What happened this week

Memecoin Frenzy over the weekend

Bitcoin was holding steady above $61’500 over the weekend, closing the weekly candle last week with a 22% gain, the largest weekly gain since early 2021. The rather quiet BTC performance on the weekend surprisingly did not have much of an effect on larger altcoins like ETH, SOL or AVAX, meme coins like DOGE, WIF, BONK or PEPE stole the show. DOGE closed last week with an 80% gain, the new kid on the block, WIF, closed with a 240% weekly candle, and BONK saw a weekly increase of 130%. The altcoin frenzy continued on Monday as Bitcoin itself also woke up on Monday morning and traded above $66’000 again for the first time since November 2021; ETH crossed the $3’500 mark; and the total crypto market cap reached $2.4T again for the first time since December 2021.

Bitcoin did in fact reach a new all-time high against the Euro on Monday.

New BTCUSD all-time high on Tuesday

On Tuesday afternoon, at roughly 4 p.m. CEST, Bitcoin then finally also reached its new USD all-time high above $69’000. The euphoria was short-lived, though, with BTC staying above the 2021 high for less than a minute and correcting down below $60’000 in just a matter of hours. During the correction after the new all-time high, more than $1 billion in positions were liquidated. The all-time high was accompanied by an extreme greed level of 90 in the crypto fear & greed index, which dropped to 75 in the hours after the all-time high and is now back up in extreme greed at 81.

The new all-time high on Tuesday did not stop the clients of big financial institutions like BlackRock from buying the spot ETF products. IBIT, the spot ETF of BlackRock for example, had record-high net inflows of $788 million on Tuesday and today has a total of $9.693 billion in net inflows since launch, according to farside. All spot ETFs, including Grayscale, now have a total of $9.371 billion in net inflows, with several days of net inflows above $500 million.

After the correction from the all-time high, Bitcoin made up most of its loss during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. Bitcoin dropped downwards more than 12% from its high, finding a low around $60’000 and bounced back up to $67’600 on Wednesday.

U.S. equities experienced a red Tuesday, with the S&P500 closing the day down more than 1.5% and the Nasdaq even more, with a daily loss of -2.7%. Both made up for some of the drop again on Wednesday. In other news, gold reached a new all-time high as well this week, trading above $2’100 and the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) is down roughly 1.3% since Friday last week.

AI-party on Wednesday

Bitcoin traded rather sideways on Wednesday and Thursday after the exciting day on Tuesday, giving the market participants some time to breathe. ETH, on the other hand, saw a little more price action, reaching a new yearly high just below $4’000 and surpassing its Tuesday high with an impressive 19% bounce from its low on Wednesday.

When it comes to action, Wednesday was the day of the AI-tokens: in anticipation of the upcoming NVIDIA GTC AI 2024 conference, AI related tokens such as RNDR, FET, NEAR or AKT have risen significantly, some of them being up more than 40% in a matter of hours.

Other altcoins experienced quite the rollercoaster on Tuesday and Wednesday, with SOL, for example, dumping almost 20% on Tuesday just to trade back up to its weekly high on Wednesday and Thursday.

Quiet Thursday in crypto and new all-time highs for U.S. equities

As said, Bitcoin did not experience a lot of price action on Thursday, but closed the day in the positive; the opening price on Thursday was just below $66’000 and the intraday high was at $68’000 for BTC and $3’940 for ETH. The ETHBTC chart shows a weekly increase of around 10% at the time of writing, with ETH being up more than 15% on the week. The Bitcoin market dominance also saw a slight decrease of roughly 3% since its weekly high on Monday.

Meme coins woke up again during the night into Friday, with DOGE up around 15% since Thursday morning, and WIF, the newer kid on the block, even up more than 20% during the same timeframe. It will be interesting to see how the crypto market behaves over the weekend, especially when looking at BTC and its market dominance compared to ETH and other altcoins.

U.S. equities had a positive day on Thursday, with the S&P500 and the Nasdaq achieving new all-time highs. Nvidia is up over 10% on the week, inching closer to the $1’000 mark, and the stock of MicroStrategy reached a new 20-year high, closing above 1’300 yesterday. META also stood out on Thursday, with the stock being up more than 4% intraday. Apple, on the other hand, is continuing in its downward trend, trading closer to its October 2023 low this week.

Concluding this week’s summary, BTC is currently trading above $67’000 shy roughly 2% from its new all-time high, trading in a sideways fashion since Wednesday. Funding rates have calmed down a little since their high on Tuesday, and the crypto fear & greed index has been hovering around 81 since yesterday.

Our Take

Bitcoin's recent performance, achieving a new all-time high above $69’000 before experiencing a sharp correction, indicates a volatile yet bullish market sentiment. The correction, while steep, was quickly recovered, showcasing strong buyer interest at lower price levels. This resilience, coupled with the anticipation of Bitcoin's halving event, suggests a bullish outlook for Bitcoin in the coming weeks.

The altcoin market, particularly memecoins like DOGE, WIF, and BONK, has shown remarkable gains, outpacing Bitcoin in the short term. This trend indicates a broadening interest within the crypto market, beyond the leading major crypto tokens. ETH and other major altcoins have also seen significant price action, suggesting a healthy and diverse market appetite.

However, it's essential to note that altcoin seasons are typically cyclical, and while the current performance is impressive, investors should remain cautious of potential volatility. Record-high net inflows into Bitcoin spot ETF products, such as BlackRock's IBIT, highlight growing institutional interest in cryptocurrency as an asset class. This trend is a strong bullish signal, indicating that, despite price volatility, institutional investors are increasingly committed to the crypto market.

The broader TradFi market, including U.S. equities, has shown resilience, with new all-time highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. This positive sentiment in traditional markets has had a spillover effect on the crypto market. However, because of the potential volatility and the risk of sudden and strong market corrections, investors should stay cautious.

The Week Ahead

Monday, March 11, 2024

• JPN - Japan GDP Q4

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

• EUR - German CPI
• U.S. - CPI

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

• Ethereum Dencun Upgrade

Thursday, March 14, 2024

• U.S. - Initial Jobless Claims
• U.S. - PPI