People walk past a neon sign advertising a Bitcoin and Ethereum crypto currency exchange in Warsaw, Poland on 19 May, 2024.
Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Cryptocurrencies extended their rally to end the week, with bitcoin holding steady above the $100,000 level while ether rallied to its best week since 2021.
The price of bitcoin was higher by 2% at $103,249.99 on Friday, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier, it rose as high as $104,324.65, its highest level since Jan. 31. For the week, bitcoin is up more than 6% and on pace for its fourth positive week in a row – and first four-week win streak since November.
“This move above $100,000 should be viewed as more than mere euphoria, but rather as evidence of a flows-driven shift,” said Gadi Chait, head of investment at bitcoin-native Xapo Bank. “Whales have been accumulating on-chain, ETF demand continues to set new records, and investors seek ‘neutral’ assets amid a tariff-shadowed macro environment. Meanwhile, the announcement of a U.S.–U.K. ‘mini-deal’ and hints of tariff relief with China have reduced overall risk aversion, lifting equities, oil, and, notably, Bitcoin.”
The risk-on sentiment bled into altcoins, or cryptocurrencies that aren’t bitcoin, most of which have struggled to keep pace with bitcoin’s gains this year. Ether, one of the biggest stragglers, jumped 10%, bringing its two-day gain up to 29%. A 6% increase in the token tied to Solana brought its two-day gain to 16%.
This week the Ethereum network also completed its latest technology upgrade, dubbed Pectra, which enables lower network fees, streamlined ether staking and support for smart wallets.
Ether heads for its best week since 2021
Ether is up 25% week to date and on pace for its best week since May 2021. The Solana token has added 14.3% this week, which is on track to be its best week since January.
Year to date, however, ether and other major altcoins – with the exception of XRP – are still deep in the red compared to bitcoin. While the flagship crypto is up 10%, ether and the Solana token are down 31% and 12%, respectively.
Bitcoin’s market structure changed after the introduction of spot bitcoin ETFs in 2024, with demand now coming from retirement accounts, macro funds, and corporate bonds such as Strategy. By contrast, altcoins still rely on crypto-native, risk-on capital, which hasn’t shown significant growth alongside the greater tech sector due to the current interest rate environment, according to Eric Chen, Co-Founder of Injective.
Bitcoin is likely to keep outperforming until broader capital flows into altcoins, he added, given their steady supply and lack of a structural buyer base, which are likely to take prices lower until they attract speculative interest.
“For us, there remains one singular strategy for crypto investors: stick to BTC until risk on headwinds dissipate,” Wolfe Research analyst Read Harvey said in a note this week. “The coin is one of just two in our basket positive on the year and it continues to dominate the rest of the space on a relative basis. The question now shifts towards if it can maintain recent outperformance vs. equities, or if Gold was right all along.”
—CNBC’s Nick Wells contributed reporting
