Bitcoin Approaches $5,250, US Stocks Slightly Down

Published at: April 17, 2019

Wednesday, April 17 — most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting discreet gains on the day by press time, as bitcoin (BTC) approaches the $5,250 mark.

Market visualization courtesy of Coin360

Bitcoin is up over two percent on the day, trading at around $5,242 by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is also about 1% lower than the price at which bitcoin started the week.

Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Ethereum (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which is at about $17.6 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple (XRP), has a market cap of about $13.9 billion by press time.

CoinMarketCap data shows that ETH’s value has grown just over 1% over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $167. On the week, the coin has also seen its value fall by over 7%.

Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

As Cointelegraph reported earlier today, the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance has launched a blockchain-neutral Token Taxonomy Initiative in partnership with major firms, including Accenture and JPMorgan Chase.

The price of the second-largest altcoin, XRP, has gained a more solid 3% over the 24 hours to press time and is currently trading at around $0.332. Looking at the coin’s weekly chart, however, its current price is also nearly 7% lower than what it reported one week ago.

Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the only one reporting notable gains is Tezos (XTZ), which is up almost 10% at press time to trade at $1.22.

The total market cap of all cryptocurrencies is currently equivalent to $176.9 billion, which is over 3% lower than the value it reported a week ago.

In industry news, an official from the Romanian central bank recently stated that cryptocurrency will not replace fiat issued by central banks as it is not necessarily a currency.

In traditional markets, the United States stock market is seeing a slight downturn so far today, with the S&P 500 down 0.15% and Nasdaq down 0.02% to press time. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), on the other hand, has gained a solid 3.78% on the day to press time.

Major oil futures and indexes are showing mixed movements today, with WTI Crude down 0.19%, Brent Crude down 0.22% and Mars US up 0.96% to press time. Opec Basket is also down 0.14% and the Canadian Crude Index has lost 0.37% in the 24 hours to press time, according to OilPrices.