Benzinga - by Mehab Qureshi, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Major cryptocurrencies experienced a significant surge on Wednesday evening, driven by increased accumulation of BTC by large holders and as investors weighed a fresh batch of strong corporate profits.
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded 9:30 p.m. EST) |
| Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) | +3.67% | $44,626 |
| Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) | +2.35% | $2,432 |
| Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) | +1.60% | $0.080 |
What Happened: Bitcoin surged from $42,500 to a peak of $44,700 in a single day, marking its highest value since Jan. 12, when spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) were first introduced for trading in the United States.
Following a lengthy regulatory process, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted approval to a series of ETFs last month. During this period, the price of Bitcoin reached $48,000 at one point.
Top Gainer (24 Hour)
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded 9:30 p.m. EDT) |
| Dymension (CRYPTO: DYM) | +17.20% | $5.85 |
| Kaspa (CRYPTO: KAS) | +15.65% | $0.12 |
| Celestia (CRYPTO: TIA) | +11.35% | $19.53 |
The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.65 trillion, showing a 0.59% increase in the past 24 hours.
The Nasdaq Composite soared by 0.95% to close at 15,756.64, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 156 points, or 0.4%, ending the day at 38,677.36.
Stocks rallied as investors assessed corporate profits, and leading tech giants continued their upward momentum. Nvidia and Microsoft both climbed approximately 2% to reach new peaks, while Meta Platforms saw a remarkable surge of 3.3%. Alphabet and Amazon also experienced gains of about 1% each.
New York Community Bancorp shares concluded with a 6.7% increase, subsequent to Moody’s downgrade of its credit rating to junk. The shares have plummeted approximately 31% in February alone, following an unexpected fourth-quarter loss and a reduction in dividend amid escalating commercial real estate losses. This steep decline comes amid ongoing concerns about the bank's exposure to troubled commercial real estate loans.
The bank closed at $4.48 on Feb. 7, according to data from Yahoo Finance. The performance of the bank has sparked concerns, particularly given that NYCB acquired the failed crypto bank Signature last year its current share price levels approach those seen in 1997.
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Analyst Notes: Cryptocurrency analyst, Michael Van de Poppe, has stated that the correction for Bitcoin appears to be over.
"A pre-halving rally is taking place; perhaps we will continue moving toward the area of $48,000-51,000. Ethereum finding more strength as well, great times."
Correction seems over for #Bitcoin.A pre-halving rally is taking place; perhaps we will continue moving toward the area of $48,000-51,000.#Ethereum finding more strength as well, great times. pic.twitter.com/PThBbo7ifF
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) February 7, 2024
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez said in a post on X that bitcoin whales have increased their asset accumulation.
"Bitcoin whales are accumulating more $BTC! Around 73 new whales now hold 1,000 #BTC or more, marking a 3.66% increase in two weeks."
#Bitcoin whales are accumulating more $BTC! Around 73 new whales now hold 1,000 #BTC or more, marking a 3.66% increase in two weeks. pic.twitter.com/VFArJYTQZl— Ali (@ali_charts) February 7, 2024
Photo by Matt Benzero on Shutterstock
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