The resurgence of digital currencies continues.
The total value of all cryptocurrencies topped $400 billion for the first time since March 8, once again driven by the smaller coins, most notably Bitcoin Cash, which is up more than 80% in the last seven days.
The price of the No. 1 digital currency, bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.62% hit a six-week high Sunday, trading above $9,000 to $9,003.74. A single bitcoin was last worth $8,920.15, up 1.5%, lagging most other coins. The underperformance of bitcoin has dropped its market dominance from 44.9% on April 1 to 37.9% Monday.
After a dreadful start to the year, the turnaround in digital currencies has market bulls breathing a sigh of relief, as the move under $7,000 in early April, now showing signs of a medium-term low.
“We believe the “winter” is ending for Bitcoin, as the crypto to fiat pressures from tax day subside, and as headline risks seem to be fading,” wrote Tom Lee, managing partner at Fundstrat Global Advisors in an April 20 note.
Lee is one of the biggest bitcoin bulls with a year-end price target of $25,000.
Bitcoin is bigger than the internet
Speaking at a debate Saturday, permabull Tim Draper of Draper Associates affirmed his optimistic outlook for bitcoin. When asked how bitcoin compares with some of his earlier investments like Tesla and Skype, Draper pulled no punches.
“Oh, this is bigger than all of those combined,” said Draper. “This is bigger than the internet. It’s bigger than the iron age, the Renaissance. It’s bigger than the industrial revolution.”
Draper, who famously purchased close to 30,000 bitcoins from the Silk Road auction sale in 2014, recently upped his price target of the No. 1 digital currency to $250,000 by 2022.
Read: If this chart is correct, it puts the price of bitcoin at $91,000 by 2020
What are the other coins doing?
Most other digital currencies have outperformed bitcoin so far Monday. Ether has added 2.5% to $637.28, Bitcoin Cash is up 16.6% to $1,395.73, Litecoin is up 3.1% to $151.39 and Ripple’s XRP is at 88 cents, up 0.9%.
Bitcoin futures have opened higher Monday. The Cboe’s May contract XBTK8, +5.04% is up 4.6% at $8,920 and the CME Group Inc. April contract BTCJ8, +8.35% has added 4.6%, last trading at $8,935.
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