Cryptocurrency Prices Soar in March: Bitcoin Market Cap Grows Despite Caution
Cryptocurrency prices, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, experienced notable gains in March despite facing multiple challenges. Bitcoin’s market cap rose by 23%, outpacing traditional assets like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Ethereum followed suit, posting a 13.5% increase in March as investors eagerly anticipated the Shanghai upgrade.
However, crypto analytics firm Santiment has noted a surge in massive Bitcoin transactions in March, with profit-taking appearing to have set in since late January, suggesting caution for those hoping to see Bitcoin surge to $35,000 or beyond. According to its analysis, Bitcoin’s Social Volume and Social Dominance indicate rising excitement and interest. The analytics firm cautions against overexcitement, as it may indicate a local top, and there is a divergence between Bitcoin’s trading volume and price, suggesting exhaustion in the price action. Additionally, long-term holders are showing greater unrealized profits than short-term holders, indicating a similar pattern to 2019 where a sharp spike led to a bleedout.
Source: Santiment
In the meantime, the US government sold 9,861 BTC for approximately (216 million on March 14, 2023, as part of the 51,352 Bitcoin seized in November 2021 from James Zhong for wire fraud related to Silk Road. The government plans to liquidate the remaining 41,490 BTC in four batches over 2023. BTC traders initially reacted negatively to concerns of selling pressure, but now the [cryptocurrency](https://coin360.com/) remains stable, trading around )28,000.
XRP Surges Over 40% in a Month Amid Korean Trading Frenzy, But Bullish Momentum May Be Fading
XRP has experienced significant price growth recently, appreciating over 40% in the last month alone. The surge in price is partly due to increased trading on South Korean exchanges, and increased investor confidence amid the ongoing legal battle with the SEC.
While XRP’s recent performance is notable, caution is advised: there were concerns that Korean traders were pumping and dumping XRP. XRP once captured a whopping 22% of the total volume on Bithumb, which was said to inflate trading volumes and give an illusion of liquidity. Furthermore, Santiment data shows that XRP’s MVRV Ratio hit a six-month high before retreating. It suggests that bulls are realizing profits by selling their tokens and the momentum may be shifting.
Source: Santiment
Elon Musk Seeks Dismissal of $258 Billion Lawsuit Filed by Dogecoin Investors Citing Vague Social Media Support
Elon Musk and his lawyers have requested a dismissal of the $258 billion lawsuit filed against him by Dogecoin investors who accused him of running a pyramid scheme. Musk’s lawyers argued that Musk’s social media support for Dogecoin was too vague to warrant a fraud claim and referred to his Dogecoin statements as “innocuous and often silly tweets.” The plaintiffs cited Musk’s May 2021 Saturday Night Live appearance, where he called Dogecoin “a hustle,” as a reference point. Despite DOGE’s mild growth in the first quarter, more than 54% of addresses holding the meme coin are currently in profit, according to on-chain metrics.
1inch Considers Governance Overhaul to Increase Community Participation and Dilute Insider Influence
The price of 1INCH slightly dropped by -2.8% today as the team has been considering changing its governance system to reduce the voting power of insiders and give more power to the broader community of token holders. The proposal suggests diluting the voting power of fully vested v1inch tokens and giving more weight to locked-up v1inch tokens.
Mask Network’s Price Surges After Whale Withdraws $14.8 Million Worth of Tokens from Exchanges
Mask Network’s jump came after a whale withdrew some 3.6 million MASK tokens, worth around $14.8 million at that time, from several exchanges through multiple addresses, according to an analysis by on-chain researcher Lookonchain. After a nearly 50% monthly surge, the token started to correct as it became the biggest loser among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap today.
Top altcoin gainers and losers
Gainers:
Kaspa KAS (+14.58%)
Zilliqa ZIL (+8.45%)
eCash XEC (+7.94%)
Losers:
Mask Network MASK (-5.78%)
Arbitrum ARB (-4.68%)
Conflux CFX (-4.24%)
NFT Market Map
Yuga Labs completed a successful Second Trip providing members of its community with a preview of what’s to come in its Otherside metaverse world that is slated to launch later this year. About 7,200 players attended the 90-minute trial run, and holders of the Otherdeed NFTs were invited. Feedback from players was generally positive, with many sharing optimism for the future of the platform.
Another ground-breaking headline for the NFT community? DeGods, the largest Solana-based collection by all-time sales volume, started its migration to Ethereum today.