Bitcoin, Ether gains; Litecoin continues bull run; optimism solution to US debt crisis will be reached
Bitcoin prices rose on Tuesday morning in Asia along with Ether, which remained above the US$1,800 support level. Litecoin continues to lead gainers among other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, with additional gains elsewhere. U.S. equity futures edged down following gains during Monday’s regular market session. As President Joe Biden and congressional leaders prepare to discuss a raise of the debt ceiling on Tuesday, investors appear optimistic a potential debt default can be avoided.
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Bitcoin, Ether show recovery
Bitcoin gained 1.42% to US$27,291 in the 24 hours to 7:30 a.m. in Hong Kong, but lost 1.44% over the last seven days according to CoinMarketCap data.
Bitcoin is showing signs of recovery from a dip over the weekend. The world’s most dominant cryptocurrency recorded US$25,964 on Saturday, a 2-month low. The token has experienced network congestion, upward pressure on transaction costs due to the popularity of Bitcoin Ordinals and new BRC-20 memecoins Pepe and Floki.
Ether gained 1.29% to US$1,822, maintaining its position above the key US$1,800 support level. However, it still posted a 1.38% weekly loss.
Most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies traded higher on Monday morning. Litecoin led the gains, adding 5.21% to US$87.65. The Bitcoin-like cryptocurrency faced a surge in interest due to the higher transaction fees affecting Bitcoin.
Litecoin, like Bitcoin, has a finite supply and works on a proof-of-work model. The cryptocurrency is having its quadrennial block halving event on Aug. 3. Halving refers to a pre-programmed reduction of the rate at which new tokens are created, which reduces supply and can drive prices higher.
The total crypto market capitalization rose 1.12% in the past 24 hours to US$1.14 trillion. The total trading volume also increased 39.95% to US$30.94 billion.