Bitcoin price, altcoins and the Dow set record highs as bulls run the market

On Tuesday, the bulls showed that they are in full control of the crypto market as Bitcoin (BTC) rallied to $19,418.97 and several top 10 altcoins went on a double-digit rampage to new 2020 highs.

Notable performers of the day were Stellar Lumens (XLM) and XRP with a 53% and 38% gain respectively. 

With all the excitement and anticipation surrounding the possibility of BTC moving to $20,000, crypto traders may have missed an equally impressive performance in traditional markets.

On the same day the Dow also rallied by more than 400 points to secure a new all-time high at 30,046. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq followed suit by adding 1.6% and 1.3%.

According to market analysts, the development of three effective COVID-19 vaccines, record low interest rates as part of Federal Reserve policy, the possibility of a second round of economic stimulus, and the increasing pace of the transition of power between the Trump Administration and President-Elect Biden are providing a much-needed confidence boost to the markets.

At the time of writing, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are also rising higher, suggesting that today’s rally could continue at the opening bell on Wednesday.

Year-to-date, the DOW is up 6.84% and the S&P 500 by 10.73%. While these are good returns for any investor’s portfolio, Bitcoin has far outperformed both, currently up by 166.67%, according to data from Skew.

Surprisingly, Ether (ETH) continues to outperform the Bitcoin price. Over the past week, the top-ranked altcoin entered a parabolic rally that took the price to a 2020 high at $623.

Typically, Bitcoin and Ether receive the bulk of media coverage regarding their price movements, but this week has shown that altcoins should not be overlooked.

While the top two digital assets by market cap have staged an amazing rally year to date, data from social analytics data provider TheTIE shows smaller-cap altcoins are also making some serious waves.

In the past 24 hours, tweet volumes for select altcoins exploded and many altcoins realized gains in their BTC, USD and USDT pairs.

After such a strong rally from Bitcoin, the digital asset may enter a brief period of consolidation or even retest lower supports. Historically, in these situations, funds flow into altcoins and cause them to rally higher.

If Bitcoin does enter a sideways range over the coming days, investors may repeat this practice, thus extending the current rally seen among altcoins.