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This Week’s Summary

• The cryptocurrency market looks set to end the week at a total market capitalization of $2,39 trillion.
• Bitcoin moved up by about 1% to trade at around $65,000 following its 4th halving.
• Ethereum increased by almost 4% to trade at around $3,200.
• BNB increased by 4%, XRP by 8%, and Solana by 7%.
• Almost all altcoins have been seen trading in the green, with very few exceptions.
• The DeFi sector maintains the total value of protocols (TVL) at around $99 billion.

Crypto Trends for the Week of April 15-21, 2024: Market Analysis and Performance

The cryptocurrency market appears set to end one of its most turbulent weeks of 2024, bringing a big smile to investors’ faces. Mid-April marked Bitcoin’s much-anticipated 4th halving, which reduced the BTC block from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. The Bitcoin halving occurs roughly every four years and is usually marked by extreme volatility. This time, most assets experienced significant fluctuations for weeks preceding the event.

While most cryptocurrencies lost important gains for most of the week, they recovered slightly on the weekend. Even the market capitalization regained its position with a $90 billion boost, helping it reach $2,39 trillion.

Bitcoin began its big week on a downtrend, losing value by the hour. The lowest point came on Wednesday, when BTC traded at around $60,000. Many feared that the king of cryptocurrencies would fall below the hard-earned support at $60,000. However, as the BTC halving started, its price steadily increased, too. In fact, Bitcoin has recently been trading in the green for nearly 48 hours, and it reached $65,000 at the time of writing.

Ethereum also experienced a terrible week, dropping below the $3,000 level several times and barely getting back above it for a few hours at a time. Fortunately, as the week came to an end, ETH’s value stabilized safely above the $3,000 level by a few hundred dollars.

Altcoins & DeFi

Most altcoins have been seen trading in the green, albeit they have been in the red for most of the week. Notable climbers include BNB, up by 4%, and XRP, up by 8%. Also, Solana increased by 7%, Cardano by 10%, Dogecoin by 6%, Avalanche by 5%, and Shiba Inu by 22%. The few exceptions include Toncoin, which moved down by 5%, and UNUS, down by 2%.

The Metaverse sector also witnessed some notable movements over the past week. For instance, Axie Infinity moved up by 9%, Render by 16%, Theta Network by 11%, Decentraland by 8%, and ApeCoin by 11%. Also, ICP increased by 25%, the Sandbox by 13%, and Floki by 18%.

The DeFi sector added almost $6 billion to the total value of locked protocols (TVL), now at $91.17 billion.

What’s in the News?

• Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, announced that Worldcoin, which he co-founded, will soon launch as a layer-2 blockchain solution on Ethereum.
• Kraken launched its own wallet, focusing on advanced security and self-custody features.

Next Week’s Crypto Market Forecast

The cryptocurrency market surpassed one of the biggest humps of the year, the Bitcoin halving. Crypto enthusiasts and investors have been waiting eagerly for this moment, which usually sparks a generous bull run. We are only witnessing the aftermath of the halving, with encouraging value surges for many assets. However, it is still too early to tell how the market will evolve in the next few weeks.

About the Author

Born and raised in Romania, and currently living in Spain, Iulian discovered a knack for writing from a tender age and won some minor awards for fiction that didn't pay much.

Iulian became a content writer in 2011, and he's still doing it to some degree of success today. He is currently specialized in cryptocurrencies, technology, online marketing, and social media. In his free time, Iulian likes reading, traveling, and watching sports. His dream is to see Bitcoin reach $100,000, just so he can tell his friends “I told you so!”

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