Bitcoin Holds $4,000, British Pound Loses to USD as Brexit Anticipation Grows
Monday, March 25 — crypto markets have continued trading sideways, with Bitcoin (BTC) holding the $4,000 threshold at press time, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap are in the red today, with Cardano (ADA) dropping by more than 4 percent to press time, while Tezos (XTZ) is up almost 5.7 percent over the past 24 hours to press time.
Bitcoin has been stable over the day, seeing a slight decline of around 0.2 percent at press time. The biggest cryptocurrency is trading at $4,020, which is a 0.1 decline over the past 7 days. Bitcoin’s dominance on the market now accounts for 50.7 percent.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Ethereum (ETH), the second cryptocurrency by market cap, is down around 0.6 percent and trading at $136.7 at press time. The top altcoin is down about 1.8 percent over the past 7 days.
Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Ripple (XRP), the third top cryptocurrency by market cap, is down about 0.8 percent over the past 24 hours at press time, and is trading at $0.307. Over the past 7 days, XRP is down around 3 percent.
Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Total market capitalization has been stable over the day, hovering around $140 billion. At press time, the market cap accounts for $139 billion, while daily trading volume amounts to $30 billion.
The total number of cryptocurrencies listed on CoinMarketCap is up to 2,122, following some recent listings.
Total market capitalization 24-hour chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Recently, American billionaire investor and crypto bull Tim Draper called on the president of Argentina to legalize Bitcoin in order to improve the economic situation in the country. In a meeting, Draper reportedly stated that emerging technologies such as blockchain and crypto have the potential to disrupt major problems in the country, including the devaluation of the Argentine peso (ARS).
The British pound (GBP) lost almost 0.2 percent against the dollar and euro earlier today, as this week could decide the fate of Brexit. Britain’s parliament is expected to try and take over control of the process from the prime minister, CNBC reports. Earlier today, Credit Suisse’s head of equity strategy claimed the possibility of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a deal can be excluded.
On March 22, European Union leaders warned Britain that it has one last chance to leave the bloc in an orderly manner. In case a Brexit deal passes the British Parliament, markets are expected to rally, according to CNBC.
The United States stock market slipped earlier today, with the S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (NASDAQ) Composite down 0.1 and 0.3 percent respectively at press time. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is slightly up at press time, seeing a growth of 0.1 percent.
Oil prices have also seen red signals today amidst concerns of a sharp economic slowdown and expectations of tighter supply due to OPEC’s production cuts and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures and Brent crude are down around 0.5 percent at press time, according to Oilprice.com.
Meanwhile, gold prices rose today, allegedly supported by investors that went in favor of safe assets amid concerns over a possible recession in the U.S. Spot gold is up about 0.5 percent, while U.S. gold futures gained 0.4 percent at press time.