Bitcoin Jumps to 3-Week Highs Above $22K (Market Watch)

Bitcoin went on a roll in the past 24 hours by surging past $22,000 for the first time since mid-August.

Most alternative coins are quite calmer now, with some notable gains seen from Solana and Uniswap.

Bitcoin Above $22K

The price of bitcoin dumped hard in the middle of last week when the bears drove it to a six-week low of $18,500. However, the cryptocurrency reacted quite well after this drop and reclaimed $19,000 shortly after.

It remained stable there for a while, and even the record-breaking interest rate hike from the European Central Bank couldn’t shake it.

Just the opposite, the asset went on the offensive as the working week was coming to its end and soared above $20,000. The weekend brought even more gains as bitcoin went to $21,500.

After a brief retracement there, BTC initiated another leg up in the past 24 hours and jumped above $22,000 for the first time since August 29. As of now, it still trades north of that line. Its market cap stands tall at $425 billion, and its dominance over the altcoins is up to almost 40%.

Altcoins Sit Calmer

The alternative coins were frequently outperforming bitcoin in the past several days, but the tides have turned around now.

Ethereum, perhaps fueled by the hype around the upcoming Merge, went from $1,500 to almost $1,750 in a matter of days. Now, the second-largest crypto stands slightly in the red, but it still stands north of $1,700.

Ripple, Cardano, Dogecoin, and Polygon have also charted insignificant daily losses. In contrast, Binance Coin, Polkadot, Shiba Inu, and Avalanche are slightly in the green.

Solana has gained the most from the larger-cap alts, with a 2.6% daily increase, and now stands at $35. Uniswap is up by a similar percentage to $6.7.

Overall, the crypto market cap has added a few more billions in a day and has neared $1.1 trillion.