Ether recovery helps crypto revisit $1tn market cap level

Ether and Bitcoin reached their highest levels in 10 days on Sunday as the market showed some signs of stabilisation.

The No. 2 cryptocurrency advanced as much as 5.8 per cent to $1,279.06 on Sunday before pulling back on Monday morning Asia time. The rally comes after the token dropped as low as $880.70 on June 18. It appears to have found support around its 200-week moving average, which currently sits near $1,200.

No. 1 Bitcoin topped out on Sunday at $21,860, after having fallen as low as $17,742.83 on June 19. Overall crypto market capitalisation retook the $1tn level on Saturday, according to data from CoinGecko, though it was sitting a bit below that as of 9.20am Singapore time on Monday.

Ether “is leading the way following sizable short liquidations,” Fundstrat said of the crypto rally in a note on Friday. Data from CoinGlass show there were about $60m of short liquidations in Ether on Friday, the most in five days.

Cryptocurrencies have suffered this year amid Federal Reserve rate hikes and stubbornly high inflation. Ether is still down more than 60 per cent this year, even after rallying from its extreme lows.

A major options expiration on Friday had been watched as a potential source of volatility.

However, “short risk cleared surprisingly efficiently” for Ether amid “perhaps unexpected stability,” Genesis Trading’s Ainsley To, Gordon Grant and Noelle Acheson wrote in a note.