Leading cryptocurrencies inched higher as a weaker private sector jobs report drove investors' risk appetite.
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded 8:35 p.m. EDT) |
| Bitcoin BTC/USD | +0.74% | $71,157.21 |
| Ethereum ETH/USD | +1.22% | $3,863.76 |
| Dogecoin DOGE/USD | +1.08% | $0.1631 |
What Happened: Bitcoin broke $71,000 for the first time in over two weeks, sailing as high as $71,670 before facing resistance. The world's second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, also ticked higher, rising past the $3,850 mark.
The rally triggered liquidations worth $111.72 million in the last 24 hours, with more than 39,000 traders getting "rekt."
Open Interest in Bitcoin futures rose 1.38% to $37.61 billion in the last 24 hours, taking the total gains over the week to over 12%. This was a sign that investors were betting on more volatility around King Crypto.
Interestingly, the number of traders taking bearish short positions on Bitcoin surged vis-à-vis those taking bullish bets, indicating that the market was expecting a correction.
Top Gainer (24 Hour)
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded 8:30 p.m. EDT) |
| Stacks (STX) | +12.22% | $2.42 |
| Mantle (MNT) | +7.18% | $1.04 |
| Cronos (CRO) | +6.36% | $0.1191 |
The global cryptocurrency market cap increased 0.44% to $2.64 trillion in the last 24 hours.
Stocks rallied strongly on Wednesday. The S&P 500 jumped 62.69 points, or +1.18%, to close at a record high of 5,354.03. Tech-focused Nasdaq Composite surged 1.96% to hit a fresh record of 17,187.90 as well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.25% to finish at 38,807.33.
The upsurge was driven in part by a 5% jump in shares of AI chip giant NVIDIA Corp. NVDA, which overtook Apple Inc. AAPL to become the second most valuable U.S. company.
Additionally, weaker private payroll data for May boosted optimism for rate cuts by the Fed, adding more momentum to the rally.
Investors will watch the important nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday to look for further signs of a weakening labor market, a catalyst for a more dovish approach by the Fed.
See More: Best Cryptocurrency Scanners
Analyst Notes: A widely-followed cryptocurrency trader on X, going by the pseudonym ionicXBT, made a bold prediction for Bitcoin.
"If BTC does NOT reach $95k by the 31st of August 2024, I will give everybody that RETWEETS this tweet £50," the trader claimed.
They highlighted their past predictions in the last bull cycle of 2021 to add more credibility to their claims.
A short-term forecast by popular cryptocurrency analyst Michaël van de Poppe projected a new all-time high for King Crypto. Van de Poppe also took a bullish position on the altcoin market, expecting them to "turn the engine on."
Read Next: BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Up 50% Since Launch: Indicators Point To Continued BTC Bull Run
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