Bitcoin's new all-time high sparks market optimism, Solana ecosystem surges

Hola folks!

Welcome back! The week saw the crypto markets soaring, with crypto bulls chasing the bears out of the market, and this has the crypto fear and greed index well into the green. While the bears did put token resistance over the weekend, the benchmark crypto asset, Bitcoin, managed to stay stable over the weekend, fueling hopes for BTC crossing the $100K mark. Solana and Ripple also had a great week as both soared on positive market developments and increased activity. 

In today’s newsletter, we highlight all the major crypto developments of the past week. We also have a video evaluating Bitcoin’s rise and the reasons supporting its reaching the $100K mark. Read on to learn more about how the developments of the past few weeks can impact crypto price movements in the coming days.

The crypto market is rife with speculation about the possibility of Bitcoin crossing the $100K mark in the coming weeks. The stage for an extended crypto rally seems to be set with the pro-crypto administration coming to power in the US. But the US election is not the only reason for cheering crypto. Today, we bring you a video discussing what is working in the favor of the global crypto market and what Bitcoin has in store for crypto traders and inventors.

Bitcoin continued its impressive upward momentum last week, climbing over 12.5% and reaching a new all-time high of $93,365. However, it hasn't been a smooth ride for the bulls. On November 14, bears attempted to start a pullback, but bulls held strong. Bitcoin is currently battling to stay above the critical $92,000 resistance level. This resilience near its peak has fueled optimism for an upside breakout. 

As Bitcoin’s rally gained traction, it has lifted the entire crypto market sentiment, driving gains across several altcoins. However, traders should remain vigilant as profit-taking could kick in if Bitcoin fails to maintain its recent highs.

The surge in Bitcoin has also had ripple effects in traditional finance, with a spike in inflows into U.S.-listed spot ETFs and crypto stocks. Notably, JPMorgan's retail sentiment score for Bitcoin reached a record high of 4, reflecting a surge in retail investor optimism. Tokyo-listed Metaplanet has announced plans to issue one-year bonds worth 1.75 billion yen ($11.3 million) to increase its Bitcoin holdings, following in the footsteps of MicroStrategy. 

While Bitcoin’s strength continues to uplift market sentiment, traders should remain cautious of potential corrections, especially in the altcoin space, where gains have been robust but might be due for a pullback. The coming days will be crucial in determining whether Bitcoin can decisively break above its resistance or if a broader market cooldown is on the horizon.

Solana has been one of the top performers during this market rally, although it’s still trading about 7% below its previous all-time high. The Solana ecosystem saw a surge in activity, especially over the weekend, driven by a renewed wave of memecoin speculation. 

Solana-based protocols shattered records, with Raydium generating $11.31 million in fees on November 17, while Jito recorded its third-highest day of fees at $9.87 million, per DefiLlama data. Additionally, memecoin platforms like pump.fun and Photon also enjoyed significant fee spikes, indicating a speculative frenzy on the Solana network. Meanwhile, older high-cap coins showed impressive moves, with HBAR rallying nearly 100% over the last few days and XRP breaking above the $1 mark for the first time in months.

On the regulatory side, Ripple's potential IPO is gaining traction, with backing from SBI, signaling renewed confidence in XRP’s market growth. Meanwhile, SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s rumored resignation is stirring speculation on the future of crypto regulation.

As the market rides this wave of optimism, not all sectors are keeping up. Ethereum’s performance has been lagging behind Bitcoin, with the ETH/BTC pair hitting new lows, raising concerns among its investors. AI tokens have also struggled, ranking 18th out of 22 tracked crypto sectors over the last 30 days as memecoins took center stage. 

However, the NFT space is showing signs of revival, with Cryptopunks seeing a 665% surge, contributing to a $179 million spike in trading volume. Looking ahead, StarkWare's CEO hinted at major improvements in transaction speed and cost on Starknet, potentially intensifying competition among Layer 2 solutions.

• BTC $91,760 ⏫ 12.68%

• SOL $242.40 ⏫ 15.92%

• XRP $1.14  ⏫ 96.62%

• HBAR $0.1176  ⏫ 114.66%

(All data here is as of 2.42 p.m., 18 November 2024)

Before we conclude, here’s a quick look at some important news from around the crypto world.

• US spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds posted their largest total daily net inflows of $295.5 million on Nov. 11, more than doubling their previous record high of $106 million set on the funds’ opening day. Read more here.

• Canary Capital has filed for a Hedera (HBAR) spot exchange-traded fund with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, marking a first for that type of crypto fund. Read more here.

That’s it for now. Thanks for sticking around.

See you later, folks! 👋

Loving the newsletter? Make sure to spread the love and hit share!