Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays Near $55K as Ether Hits Brand-New Record Price

The story of boring bitcoin and exciting ether continued in the cryptocurrency markets Wednesday.

Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $54,925 as of 21:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET). Gaining 0.14% over the previous 24 hours.
Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $54,046-$55,710 (CoinDesk 20)
BTC above the 10-hour and the 50-hour moving averages on the hourly chart, a bullish signal for market technicians.

Bitcoin’s hourly price chart on Bitstamp since April 25.
Source: TradingView
Bitcoin’s price was holding steady on Wednesday, showing little change over the past 24 hours. At around 02:30 UTC (9 p.m. ET Tuesday), the world’s largest cryptocurrency went as high as $55,710. It then lost steam and returned to the $54,000 level but was at $54,925 as of press time.

Over-the-counter crypto trader Alessandro Andreotti says bitcoin’s stagnant market is due to investors continuing to explore other cryptocurrencies. ”Bitcoin has, in fact, gone up, but I see it as a consolidation move to a new price range,” Andreotti said. “It’s staying relatively stable right now while alts moon.”
crypto market is behaving in a very similar way to the 2017 run. If it keeps doing that, we can expect a new run for bitcoin in the short to mid term, possibly a new all-time high even, while alts consolidate at their new price ranges.”

Bitcoin’s market capitalization dominance so far in April.
Source: TradingView
In the derivatives space, open interest in bitcoin futures across major venues is way down so far this week. Last week, the total open interest hit $523 billion. So far this week, that number is a paltry $124 billion, according to data aggregator