Bitcoin-mania continues as crypto token nears $73,000; here's why altcoins failed to catch up (2024)

It is a party-mode for Bitcoin investors as the largest crypto token scaled new highs in the first quarter of 2024. The largest and the oldest crypto token has surged more than 250 per cent in the last one year and 65 per cent in the year 2024 so far to hit a new high of $72,850 in the last 24 hours.

The mania in Bitcoin continues but other altcoins are lagging behind to mount new highs or break previous records. The mammoth rally in bitcoin has failed to fuel fire in the other tokens who have seen a decent rise in the catch-up rally but have not been able to scale new peaks.

Bitcoin's latest surge has been powered by the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, upcoming halving event and institutional buying. One needs to understand that other tokens are rallying in the back of undercurrent in the crypto space but there is no such reasons to go all guns blazing on others.

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Altcoins, however, are lacking similar kind of institutional interest of positive news for them. Another thing that should be noted is that altcoins witnessed a more severe carnage compared to Bitcoin, with a number of tokens and projects getting completely vanished during the crypto winter. Bitcoins decline was passive and it has always been a leader of the pack.

The ecosystem is bracing itself for new highs and trying to enter the market for better gains, said market experts. Recently, the London Stock Exchange announced that they would accept Bitcoin and Ethereum Exchange-Traded Notes (ETNs) this year. It is likely to begin from the second half of 2024.

The growing acceptance of Bitcoin across institutions is acting as a major catalyst for the latest surge. Investors are looking at this as a move towards greater credibility for the asset, said Rajagopal Menon, VP at WazirX. There is greater liquidity in the market with Tether’s $2 billion USDT freshly infused, indicating the increased demand for Bitcoin among ETFs, he said.

"Altcoins, especially memecoins aren’t far behind either. The minor retracements after its $70,000 was an impetus for altcoins to surge. Solana and Ethereum are already riding this wave with around 12-15 per cent rise in the last one week. Shiba Inu is predicted to reflect similar patterns based on its market indicators and is already up by 28 per cent in the last 7 days," he said.

Even after the clarification and arguments by experts, the numbers don't lie. Barring Bitcoin and stablecoins, other top five altcoins in terms of crypto market capitalization are down 17-83 per cent from their respective all-time highs. However, there might be some exceptions but the dominance in the rally has been led by Bitcoin only.

Ethereum, the second largest crypto token after Bitcoin is down about 17 per cent from its all time highs at $4,891.70 scaled in November 2021, while BNB is down 22.5 per cent from its record highs at $690.93, hit in May 2021. Solana is 41 per cent while Cardano is 75 per cent behind. XRP hit an all-time high of $3.84 six year ago in January 2018. It is down 83 per cent from that mark.

Bitcoin's rally is fueled by growing interest from both institutional and retail investors in Bitcoin spot ETFs. This surge is further compounded by the approaching Bitcoin halving event, set to take place the next month. These two are distinctive to Bitcoin, said Edul Patel, CEO at Mudrex.

"However, it is worth noting that Bitcoin's surge often triggers a similar upward trend in other altcoins. Ethereum has exceeded the $4,000 threshold and is inching closer to its record high. Most cryptocurrencies have gained good amounts over the past few months growing from record lows increasing the positive investor sentiment across the crypto market," he said.

US-based Y-Combinator backed crypto platform Mudrex has launched the US Bitcoin Spot ETFs for Indian investors. Indian investors can buy Bitcoin ETFs with a minimum investment of $5,000 and maximum limit is $2,50,000. Investors can choose individual spot ETFs, create a personalized basket.