A wave of optimism has swept the crypto market, propelled by significant price surges for industry heavyweights Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL).
Solana has defied expectations with a strong price rally, seizing the fourth spot in cryptocurrency rankings by market capitalization and overtaking Binance’s BNB token. While a major network outage on February 6 could have spooked some paper handers,market sentiment was bullish enough to counter the fears.
The price of Solana went up 4% today, from $112.54 to its current $117.14. For swing traders, things also look good, with the cryptocurrency registering an impressive 15.9% spike in the last 7 days.
There appears to be growing appetite for risk in the markets as the widely followed Crypto Fear and Greed Index hit 74 out of 100, its highest level since Bitcoin’s record peak in November 2021.
Bitcoin is usually seen as a volatile alternative to stocks, but altcoins are even more volatile than BTC, and are very sought after in bullish times for their potential to yield high gains in short periods.
Beyond overall market sentiment, the total value locked (TVL) in Solana’s DeFi protocols has experienced a meteoric rise of over 944% since 2023, according to DefiLlama, reflecting heightened investor confidence and engagement in the Solana ecosystem. The solid growth comes despite the low blow that came up with the collapse of FTX.
Sam Bankman Fried, the former CEO of the defunct exchange was a major fan and investor in the token.
As a side note, preorders for the new version of the Solana Mobile Saga smartphone have surpassed expectations, achieving over 100,00 presales and giving the Solana Foundation enough room to increase its price and cash in on the brand marketing that a crypto-phone brought during a token bull run.
Ethereum maintaining momentum
Following broader market movements, Ethereum continues its ascent. ETH has registered impressive gains today, exhibiting remarkable strength throughout the market upswing.
The price of Ethereum bounced 5.6% after a minor red candle yesterday. ETH started the day at $2,642 and went up all the way to its current price of $2,781.
The price of Ethereum hasn’t see such levels since April of 2022.
Bitcoin’s price movements have considerable pull on altcoins, including Ethereum. However, on a more fundamental level, the highly anticipated Dencun upgrade to the Ethereum network, slated for March, promises significant efficiency improvements and has fostered a positive mood among investors and the crypto community.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
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