Bitcoin painted a fresh yearly high of over $13,200 following promising news from PayPal. This time, the altcoins joined the ride, and the total market cap has surged by $23 billion since yesterday alone.
Significant news emerged yesterday when the giant online payment processor PayPal announced it would enable customers to purchase, sell, and hold Bitcoin and other digital assets. The integration would first be available “in the coming weeks” for US-based users, and it will reach other countries next year.
The cryptocurrency market reacted immediately as Bitcoin doubled-down on its recent impressive performance. BTC was hovering just shy of its previous 2020 high at $12,500. In the following hours, though, the primary cryptocurrency smashed that level.
All eyes were on $13,000 next, and Bitcoin didn’t disappoint. BTC bulls drove the price towards highs not registered in over a year – $13,220 (on Bitstamp).
However, Bitcoin has lost some steam since then and currently trades slightly below $12,800. Nevertheless, more macro data indicates that BTC has gained over $2,000 since October 2nd alone.
This impressive performance contrasted once again with the developments on Wall Street. The three most prominent US-based stock indexes all closed yesterday’s trading session slightly in the red.
Unlike BTC’s previous leg up when the alternative coin market stood still, the events differed this time. Ethereum briefly broke above $400 but, similarly to Bitcoin, has retraced since then and trades at about $395.
On a 24-hour scale, Litecoin has gained the most from the top 10 with a 12% surge. LTC trades at $55 and has overtaken Polkadot (2%) and Cardano (0.5%) for the 8th spot. Ripple (3%), Bitcoin Cash (5.5%), Chainlink (4%), and Binance Coin (2%) are also in the green.
The most impressive gainer, though, is Reserve Rights. RSR has skyrocketed by 41% to $0.015. Ampleforth (13%), Energy Web Token (11%), Avalanche (10.5%), and CyberVein (10%) follow.
Overall, the cryptocurrency market cap has increased by $23 billion from yesterday’s low of $364 billion to $387 billion.
