Bitcoin Holds Near $5,100 as US Stocks Stand Still

Friday, April 12 — most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting slight to moderate gains on the day by press time, as Bitcoin (BTC) approaches the $5,100 mark.

Market visualization courtesy of Coin360

Bitcoin’s price is up close to half a percent on the day, trading at around $5,085 by press time, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is close to two percent higher than the price at which Bitcoin started the week.

Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Today Fundstrat Global Advisors founder Thomas Lee pointed out that the Bitcoin Misery Index reached 89, which is its highest reading since 2016, which according to him is both good and bad. He points out that it has reported values over 67 only during bull markets and that he believes it is more evidence that the market is becoming bullish.

Ethereum (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which is at about $17.4 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple (XRP), has a market cap of about $13.7 billion by press time.

ETH also gained about half a percent of its value over the last 24 hours. At press time, ETH is trading around $165. On the week, ETH has gained just under one percent, but reported a mid-week high of $183 on Monday.

Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Second-largest altcoin Ripple has lost just about one percent over the 24 hours to press time and is currently trading at around $0.328. Looking at the coin’s weekly chart, its current price is almost 10% lower than what it reported one week ago.

Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the one reporting the most notable losses is Maker (MKR), which is down over six percent. The most notable gains, on the other hand, have been seen by Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which is over six percent up.

The total market cap of all cryptocurrencies is currently equivalent to $172.7 billion, which is just slightly lower than $173.9, the value it saw a week ago.

Yesterday, members of the United States Congress sent a joint request to the Internal Revenue Service to provide clarity on reporting crypto taxes, ahead of the April 15 tax deadline.

Also yesterday, a filing dated April 11 revealed that decentralized computing network Blockstack has applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) to launch a $50 million token sale which — if approved — would be the industry’s first SEC-qualified offering. If approved, the sale would notably see Harvard’s endowment fund, among others, directly involved in the purchase

In traditional markets, the United States stock market is seeing little change so far today, with the S&P 500 seeing no change and Nasdaq down 0.21% to press time. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), on the other hand, has lost a solid 4.30% on the day to press time.

Major oil futures and indexes are showing mixed movements today, with WTI Crude up 1.35%, Brent Crude up 1.12% and Mars US down 1.42% to press time. Opec Basket is also down a slight 0.06% and the Canadian Crude Index has not seen its value change in the 24 hours to press time, according to OilPrices.