The global crypto market capitalization climbed to nearly $2.82 trillion on Thursday, its highest level in more than seven months, as bitcoin broke above $81,000 and Zcash led a wave of double-digit altcoin gains. The rally spilled into crypto-related stocks and left traders split on the Federal Reserve's Sept. 16 rate decision.
Bitcoin broke above $81,000 on Thursday. The move pushed the crypto market's total value to nearly $2.82 trillion, the highest reading in more than seven months. The coin traded around $81,460 at publication time, up 5.4%.
Zcash and altcoins post double-digit gains
Zcash jumped 16.5%, leading gains among the top 50 cryptocurrencies. Cardano gained 13%. Dogecoin and XRP each climbed roughly 10%.
The recovery follows a sharp January sell-off, when the total market cap fell from around $3.4 trillion in mid-January to around $2.3 trillion in the first week of February.
Rally spills into crypto stocks
Bitcoin treasury company Strategy and USDC issuer Circle each gained 15%. Crypto exchange Coinbase rose around 10%. Strategy's STRC preferred shares climbed back near their $100 par value after dropping as low as $69 five weeks ago.
According to Wincent Senior Director Paul Howard, bitcoin's break above $80,000 was fueled by $100 million of ETF inflows and OTC activity: "was enough to banish the bears ahead of U.S. economic data". He added that a revival in memecoin trading has also helped lay the groundwork for what he expects could be a steady climb toward $100,000 by the end of the year.
Fed decision splits traders
Traders are nearly evenly split on the Federal Reserve's Sept. 16 meeting, pricing a 50.4% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike and a 49.6% chance of a hold. RootstockLabs head of institutional Richard Green tied bitcoin's rise alongside gold to the so-called debasement trade, citing concerns over government debt that could usher in monetary support, while cautioning that further drawdowns are still likely.
Tesseract Group Head of Asset Management Adam Haeems pointed to roughly $1.4 billion in September bitcoin puts between $68,000 and $75,000, with overall put open interest about half that of calls and heavy call positioning between $82,000 and $100,000. He described the setup as a hedged long, with investors holding their exposure while insuring against a pullback.
Source: The Block
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