Crypto Price Today Live: Bitcoin Tops $22,000; Solana, Polygon get up to 8%

New Delhi: Amid rising volatility, major cryptos extended their gains on Tuesday as major crypto token Bitcoin topped the $22,000 mark, while Ethereum eagerly awaited its software upgrade.

Investors continue to watch Thursday’s expected merger, the technological overhaul of the Ethereum blockchain, which will shift the protocol from proof-of-work to more energy-efficient proof-of-stake.

Solana zoomed 8 percent, while Polygon jumped 5 percent. Among the losers, Ethereum and Cardano fell around 2 percent each.

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization traded marginally higher at $1.06 trillion, rising about half a percent in the past 24 hours. However, the total trading volume increased by around 24 percent close to $90.43 billion.

What is cooking in India
In a major relief for crypto exchange WazirX, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) unfrozen its bank accounts, which were previously frozen to investigate money laundering. That said, the agency will continue to investigate the matter. In a media release on Monday, the crypto exchange said its bank accounts have been frozen after a month. WazirX can now continue its banking operations as usual.

Expert take
Bitcoin rose above the $22,000 level as buying strength increased late Monday afternoon. If BTC manages to hold above the current level, the next immediate resistance for BTC could be at $24,000, said Edul Patel, CEO and Co-Founder, Mudrex.

“The outlook for BTC has turned positive as it outperformed Ethereum. In contrast, Ethereum has changed hands at the $1,690 level. It suffered a 2% drop as uncertainty increased ahead of the consolidation,” he added.

Global updates

• Prominent crypto exchange Huobi Global will remove seven privacy tokens next week amid broader regulatory scrutiny of such tokens, it said in a statement.

• After skyrocketing last week, LUNA—the new token from the Terra blockchain that spectacularly collapsed in May—came down to earth, plunging a whopping 33 percent on Monday.

Tech View of Giotto’s Crypto Platform
Bitcoin (BTC), the largest crypto by market capitalization, has seen declining fortunes since the start of 2022. It has been exposed to volatility from several fronts, including Fed rate hikes, adverse market conditions or Bitcoin’s increased correlation to stocks and the dollar. index (inverse).

However, Bitcoin’s outlook appears to be improving. Bitcoin is currently trading at $22,200, up 2% in the last 24 hours. BTC has been trading below its long-term descending trendline resistance, having failed to retest it several times.

After bottoming out at the $18,500 mark this month, when liquidations worth $400 million occurred in the crypto market, BTC slowly began to pick up the pace. BTC broke above the trendline resistance, rising to $20,000 and then to $22,000, trading in an ascending channel. The increase in prices has been accompanied by an increase in trading volume indicating that traders are confident about this rally. The momentum shift is evident from BTC’s RSI which stands at a robust 60.

Microstrategy’s $500 million worth of BTC purchases and the Fed’s impending rate hike announcement could prove decisive in determining BTC’s immediate course. To mark investor confidence, BTC needs to cross the psychological resistance of $23,500. In case of a decline, $20,000 will be the immediate support.

Great levels
Resistance: $23,000, $23,500, $24,000

Support: $21,500, $20,000

(Views and recommendations given in this section are the analysts’ own and do not represent those of ETMarkets.com. Please consult your financial advisor before taking any position in the asset(s) mentioned.)