Bitcoin Approaches $4,000 as the Stock Market Sees Gains

Friday, March 15 — most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting slight to noteworthy gains on the day by press time. Bitcoin (BTC) is approaching $4,000, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Market visualization from Coin360

At press time, Bitcoin is up just under one percent on the day, trading at around $3,961, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is just about three quarters of a percent higher than $3,928, the price at which Bitcoin started the week.

Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

As Cointelegraph reported earlier today, Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Thomas Lee broke with tradition about Bitcoin price forecasts, claiming that the market could see a U-turn in August.

Ethereum (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which is at about $14.5 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple (XRP), has a market cap of about $13 billion by press time.

ETH is up by over three percent over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $138, after having started the day at $133. On its weekly chart, Ethereum has seen its value increase by just a fraction of percent. ETH also reported a mid-week low of about $130 on Tuesday.

Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

This week, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that blockchain applications outside of finance face more difficulty gaining traction, as the primary added value they offer is decentralization.

Second-largest altcoin Ripple has gained under half of a percent in the 24 hours to press time and is currently trading at around $0.314. Looking at the coin’s weekly chart, its current price is just fraction of a percent higher than $0.313, the price at which it started the week.

Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Recently news broke that Ripple’s developer ecosystem project Xpring and game industry blockchain platform Forte have jointly established a $100 million fund to support game developers.

Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the ones experiencing the most notable growth are Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Cardano (ADA), Maker (MKR) and Nem (XEM), which are all up between four and seven percent on the day.

The total market cap of all cryptocurrencies reached just over $137 billion today, which is over 2 percent more than $134 billion, the value it reported one week ago.

In traditional markets, the stock market is seeing discreet growth so far today, with the S&P 500 up 0.67 percent and Nasdaq up 1.05 percent.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) — or Wall Street “fear gauge” — on the other hand, has lost a solid 5.9 percent on the day at press time.

Earlier today, CNBC reported that European markets are seeing growth after United Kingdom lawmakers voted to delay brexit.

Major oil futures and indexes are showing mixed movements today, with WTI Crude down 0.32 percent, Brent Crude down 0.27 percent and Mars US up 0.53 percent. Opec Basket is also up 1.04 percent and the Canadian Crude Index has seen its value decrease by 0.34 percent, according to OilPrices.