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This Week’s Summary

• The cryptocurrency market looks to end the week at a total market capitalization of $2,546 trillion.
• Bitcoin (BITCOMP) is down by nearly 1% despite a historic surge this week.
• Ethereum (ETH-X) is up by nearly 5% after setting a new all-time high (ATH) this week.
• XRP (XRP-X) is down by more than 4% after a disappointing week.
• Almost all altcoins have registered significant gains this week.
• The DeFi sector surpassed the $100 billion level in TVL after gaining almost $5 billion this week.

Crypto Trends for the Week of Oct. 18–24, 2021: Market Analysis and Performance

The crypto market ends yet another productive week with new all-time highs for many of its significant assets. Also, the overall market capitalization continues to increase after another $76 billion value boost. At the moment, it is standing at around $2,546 trillion.

The best news comes from Bitcoin, as the king coin set a new all-time high (ATH) at $66,930.36 on Wednesday. Behind the sudden surge in value was the approval of the first-ever futures BTC ETF in the US. On that same day, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved BITO. And, the futures-backed Bitcoin ETF registered over $1 billion in trading volume in its first 24 hours.

In the hours that followed, many expected BTC to rise above $70,000 and beyond. However, a flash crash on BinanceUS brought its ambitions down by more than $8,200 in an instant. And, with it, the entire market lost precious gains. Apparently, over $500 million in Bitcoin liquidations led to the crash. For the rest of the week, Bitcoin stabilized at around $60,000. It has been recently trading at around $60,295.

Ethereum is another leading coin that has set a new ATH this week. The second crypto in command managed to increase to as high as $4,366.09. Unfortunately, the BinanceUS crash brought it back a notch. Ethereum has been recently trading at around $4,028.

Altcoins & DeFi

Ripple’s XRP can’t seem to get a grip on whether the crypto market is rising or dropping. Even as many cryptocurrencies are heading towards mainstream adoption, this asset hovers around $1, as it did for years. It has been recently trading at about $1.08.

Another poor-performing coin is Cardano (ADA-X), with a 2% drop in value this week. Only a month ago, many dubbed it as the ideal “Ethereum-killer.” Unfortunately, ADA is heading in the opposite direction. At the moment, it is struggling to remain above the $2 level and it has been recently trading at around $2.11.

Elsewhere, Polkadot is up by roughly 3%. Meanwhile, Binance Coin (BNB-X) gained almost 2%, and Dogecoin (DOGE-X) is up by approximately 3%.

The DeFi sector gained roughly $5 billion in total value protocols (TVL), which now stands at nearly $103.05 billion. It is the first time in history that the value of decentralized finance surpasses $100 billion.

What’s in the News?

• Major American bank and credit union enable clients to buy Bitcoin.
• Grayscale files to turn its Bitcoin fund into a spot ETF.

Next Week’s Crypto Market Forecast

SEC’s approval of a futures-backed ETF for Bitcoin produced the effects that many expected for the crypto market. And, if it wasn’t for the flash crash on BinanceUS, the surge could have been even more spectacular. Nevertheless, the king coin should stabilize at around $60,000 and grow beyond it after five months of seesawing.