WEEKLY WATCH - Crypto Market Soars as Bitcoin Hits New Multi-Year Peak

Bitcoin's climb to $65,000, Ethereum's surge, and the meme coin frenzy highlight the latest developments in the cryptocurrency market.

The cryptocurrency market experienced significant movements in the last 7 days, with Bitcoin leading the charge by surging to new multi-year highs. Ethereum also saw notable gains, while meme coins like Pepe, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu captured investor attention with their impressive rallies.

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, had a relatively quiet weekend, hovering around the $62,000 level. However, as Monday arrived, bullish momentum returned, propelling Bitcoin's price upwards by 5.6% within the last 24 hours and by 27% over the past week. The cryptocurrency reached a new multi-year peak, surpassing $65,000, coming close to its all-time high of $69,000 set in 2021. Bitcoin's market cap approached $1.3 trillion, reaffirming its dominance over the altcoin market.

Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, also participated in the market rally, surpassing the $3,500 mark with a weekly gain of over 14%. At present, Ethereum is trading at $3,508, with a market capitalization of $420 billion. Trading volumes for Ethereum surged by 43% within the last 24 hours, exceeding $16 billion.

The surge in meme coins, particularly Pepe, has been a notable aspect of the recent crypto market activity. Pepe, a meme coin rivaling Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, outperformed larger-cap altcoins with a massive daily surge, entering the top 50 largest cryptocurrencies and reaching a new all-time high. Other meme coins, including Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, also experienced significant gains, with SHIB inching closer to potentially surpassing DOGE as the largest meme coin.

In addition to meme coins, other altcoins such as Cardano and Polkadot also witnessed impressive gains, ranging from 8% to 10% overnight. While the rest of the larger-cap altcoins have also seen gains, their movements have been more modest compared to the surges observed in meme coins and leading cryptocurrencies.

In terms of overall market metrics, the total crypto market cap has experienced a significant uptick, adding over $100 billion overnight to reach $2.550 trillion on CoinMarketCap. Within this context, decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to play a significant role, with its total volume reaching $9.56 billion, representing 8.75% of the total market 24-hour volume. Stablecoins, on the other hand, maintain their dominance, with an overall volume of $96.23 billion, accounting for 88.09% of the total 24-hour market volume.