Binance Coin (BNB) rises 50% as Litecoin (LTC) and Stellar (XLM) make 16% gains.
While Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are resting at the key milestones of $60K and $2K respectively, smaller altcoins are darting ahead, pushing the total crypto market cap beyond $2 trillion for the first time.
BNB is the biggest winner of the week with 50% gains, making the market cap of the coin more than $60 billion, bigger than traditional banks including Santander. Close behind, other altcoins have also made big gains, with Zcash, Litecoin and IOTA all boasting a 16% increase.
The rising prices come amidst growing excitement about digital assets. Bitcoin prices in South Korea hit $70K early in the week as the kimchi premium resurfaced and the cryptoasset was featured on the front page of the famous financial newspaper Barron’s.
This week’s highlights
- Corporate adoption gathers pace
- State Street turns to Bitcoin
Corporate adoption gathers pace
Corporations are buying more crypto than ever, with both new entrants and old hands scooping up Bitcoin.
Last week, California real estate firm Caruso announced it will allocate roughly 1% of its treasury to Bitcoin and accept the cryptoasset for rent on all its properties.
This follows another big allocation from American business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, which has fed its bottomless appetite with another purchase of 253 BTC for $15 million. On the other side of the planet, Chinese app developer Meitu has bolstered its own treasury with another $10 million allocation to Bitcoin.
State Street turns to Bitcoin
The second-oldest bank in the United States, State Street, has announced that it will provide trading infrastructure for Pure Digital – an automated over-the-counter market for digital assets aimed at institutions.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Pure Digital chief executive Lauren Kiley said,
“Banks are telling us that they can’t ignore client demand for cryptoassets, and they realize it’s a market they need to get into.”
Her words explain the accelerating race for banks to adopt cryptoassets. State Street joins BNY Mellon, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and several other big Wall Street banks jostling to enter the new market.
The week ahead
The longer Bitcoin lingers around $60K, the bigger the breakout that could finally be expected, and two events in the coming week could help pull the trigger on a large move.
On Tuesday, the US government is set to release customer price index data. This will be scrutinized for signs of inflation and could see traders flock to Bitcoin as a safe haven.
On Wednesday, Coinbase’s debut on the Nasdaq could also spark interest in the crypto industry as the initial public offering raises more awareness of the digital currency ecosystem.
This post originally appeared on the eToro blog.
Featured Image: Shutterstock/Dario Lo Presti/Stockbym
