Crypto Market Gains 3% But Trade Volume Drops 21%

The reversal of fortunes in the cryptocurrency market continued on Thursday to close at $1.34 trillion, gaining 3 per cent in the past 24 hours. However, trade volume had a significant dip of 21 per cent with buyer sentiments unable to match the excitement of the previous day. 

Bitcoin (BTC) maintained its upward rally, breaking past the $32,000 levels to regain its weekly losses. The bulls, eyeing a return to $33,000, pushed BTC past the psychological level of $32,500. Eventually, BTC dropped back a little to finish the day at $32,500 with a gain of 1.8 per cent as of 9 am IST. The first and second support are forming near $31,800 and $31,300, respectively. BTC tested its short-term resistance level at $32,800 during the day. BTC trade volumes declined by 28 per cent, with buyers unable to sustain the high volumes witnessed the previous day. 

Ethereum (ETH) paced ahead of the $2,000 mark positing a bull run in the coming days. ETH gained by around 4.1 per cent to close at $2,055. ETH reversed its weekly losses, brushed past its first resistance level at $2,050 and steered clear of its support levels at $1,950 and 1,900 along its way. 

All the major altcoins, except the dollar-pegged stablecoins, remained in green. Among them, Stellar (XLM) stole the show by registering a whopping 15 percent gain, followed by Polkadot (DOT), Uniswap (UNI), Solana (SOL) with single digit gains. Except for RUNE, which halted operations due to a hack, all top 100 cryptocurrencies registered gains for the second consecutive day.

BTC continues to dominate the broader market with a 45.8 per cent share. BTC needs to push past the $32,800 resistance level to bring the $34,000 level into play for the market to gain further momentum. BTC prices remaining sideways this week can help recover losses in a few altcoins. 

Top Gainers today:

1. Axie Infinity (AXS): 20.9%
2. Stellar (XLM): 17.2%
3. Telcoin (TEL): 14.1%

Top Loser today*:

1. THORChain (RUNE): -6.3%

The analysis includes the top 100 coins only as of 9 am IST

*All other coins have gained except RUNE

Source: CoinMarketCap

Crypto News at a Glance:

1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced its plans to introduce India's own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in a phased manner. A regulatory framework allowing the CBDC (Digital Rupee) to co-exist with cash and other digital forms of payments is currently underway. 
2. Bitcoin Depot, the world's largest Bitcoin ATM network, announced a partnership with major retail chain Circle K to expand its footprint with over 700 Bitcoin ATMs already installed across the U.S. and Canada. Bitcoin Depot ATMs enable users to exchange cash for cryptocurrency.
3. New York-based Global X ETFs has filed for a Bitcoin ETF with the U.S. SEC under Global X Bitcoin Trust. The ETF, if approved, will be available on one of the largest U.S. equities market operators CBOE BZX exchange. 
4. JP Morgan, a leading U.S. investment bank, announced that it would give access to cryptocurrency funds for its retail wealth investors on request. Its clients will now have access to the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, Bitcoin Cash Trust and Ethereum Trust among others. 

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