Bitcoin (BTC) has pushed over $4,500 for the first time this year

Tuesday, April 2 — Bitcoin (BTC) has pushed over $4,500 for the first time this year, while top crypto markets are solidly in the green for the second day in a row, some seeing major 24-hour growth. The price of BTC skyrocketed, gaining more than 14 percent in the space of one hour early Tuesday. Hovering around $4,650 at press time, the coin peaked at $4,849 early on April 2, according to CoinMarketCap stats, before dropping slightly and trading sideways to press time.

In comparison to yesterday’s charts, when BTC’s price was hovering around $4,100, the market capitalization of the world’s top coin has gained almost $10 billion, totalling $82 billion by press time. BTC is currently up about 13 percent over the past 24-hours. Ethereum (ETH), the second-ranked cryptocurrency by market cap, is also solidly in the green, seeing about 6 percent in gains on the day. The coin is now trading at $150 in comparison to yesterday’s $140, while its market cap is over $15.8 billion at press time.

Ripple (XRP), currently the world’s third largest cryptocurrency, is also up 6 percent today, trading around $0.33 by press time. The coin’s market cap has gained about $900 million within a day, reaching $13.8 billion at the peak earlier today.
The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has significantly increased during the sudden market surge today. While yesterday’s highest point was at $146 billion, today’s peak was at $163 billion, declining to $159.4 billion at press time. As for other altcoins, all top 20 currencies except Tezos (XTZ), ranked 19th and down 4.4 percent, are currently in the green, with many seeing double digit growth on the day. Litecoin (LTC), Cardano (ADA), Tron (TRX) and Monero (XMR) have seen the most significant gains today, all growing over 10 percent, while other altcoins are up 5 to 10 percent to press time.

At the same time, Tether (USDT), the fiat-pegged stablecoin with the highest trade volume, has recently hit an all-time high by the number of daily transactions, according to blockchain data provider Coin Metrics. As BTC’s price surged this morning, the industry is discussing a prediction made by crypto trader and investor Josh Rager of TokenBacon. In a tweet from Rager on March 31, he stated that the next BTC cycle should peak at $150,000 by 2023. Some are sceptical about the optimistic forecast, while others recall even more optimistic outlooks on BTC hitting $200,000 and more in the future.

In other crypto industry news, major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has recently expanded into cross-border payments. Its customers can now transfer funds to any user with a Coinbase account around the world using XRP and the exchange’s stablecoin, USDCoin (USDC), with no fee. Meanwhile, a recent report published by SwissBanking claims that the fintech sector in Switzerland, including distributed ledger technology firms and crypto-related businesses,  continues to grow, while traditional financial institutions are stagnating.

Article Produced By
Ana Berman

https://cointelegraph.com/news/btc-hits-4-800-for-the-first-time-in-2019-top-crypto-markets-see-double-digit-growth