Crypotcurrency Prices Notch 17-Day High as Bitcoin Approaches Key Milestone

Cryptocurrency prices notched two-and-a-half week highs Sunday, with a majority of the gains occurring over the span of an hour thanks to a sudden surge in trading volumes.

Market Update
The Sunday rally added more than $10 billion to the cryptocurrency market in the span of an hour, according to data provider CoinMarketCap. The total value of all cryptos in circulation would later peak at $281.2 billion on trading volumes of $11.8 billion. Earlier in the day, transactions totaled $12.6 billion over a 24-hour period.

Bitcoin peaked $6,885.91 Sunday at 11:44 UTC, its highest level in nearly one month. Over the next 6 hours, BTC/USD hovered between $6,780 and $6,810, a sign that momentum was slowly building.

Bitcoin has recovered more than $1,000 from its most recent swing low below $5,800. In the process, it has overcome multiple pain points that had thwarted previous rally attempts. The next major hurdle is $7,000 – a round number that also represents the critical break-even point for miners.

In terms of altcoins, Ethereum prices traded above $500 Sunday for the first time in two-and-a-half weeks. The no. 2 cryptocurrency peaked at $503.20. At the time of writing, it was trading at $492.

Bitcoin cash is currently trading 2.2% higher at $764. Stellar Lumens is reporting gains of 3.7%, the largest among the top-ten, to trade at $0.212.

Possible Factors Behind the Rally
Despite the sudden rise in volume, total transactions remain very low by historical standards. The case of bitcoin is especially interesting; the largest crypto by market cap rose on Sunday as volumes crossed $4 billion – a level that is commonly associated with upward momentum.

Bitcoin continues to be the main pull factor in a market struggling for direction. Bitcoin accounts for more than 42% of the entire cryptocurrency pie, up from roughly a third during the height of the bull market. As such, movements in either direction will bear significant fruit for altcoins as well as tokens.

In addition to technical re-positioning, the corrective rally may be partly attributed to the sudden surge of positive developments in the cryptocurrency market. As Hacked reported Saturday, digital currency exchange Binance is expected record profits this year despite the market’s nearly 70% correction since January. Meanwhile, South Korea is moving ahead with a regulatory overhaul of cryptocurrencies in line with a G20 mandate to establish a common framework for digital assets.