Bitcoin hovers above $62K – Has the market survived the bear trap?

Bitcoin experienced a decline towards $62,000 during the Asian and European sessions on Wednesday, joining the broader dip in the crypto market where tokens gave up some of their gains from the recent rally.

Currently, the value of Bitcoin (BTC) stands at $62,046.00, showing a slight decrease of 0.5% in the past hour and a 2.7% decline since yesterday. The current value of BTC is 8.0% higher than its value a week ago.

The current global crypto market cap stands at $2.4 Trillion, with a decrease of 3.16% in the past 24 hours and an impressive 102.43% increase compared to one year ago. Currently, the market capitalization of Bitcoin stands at $1.22 Trillion, indicating a Bitcoin dominance of 50.86%. 

Meanwhile, Stablecoins’ market cap stands at $161 billion, accounting for 6.68% of the overall crypto market cap.

Bitcoin stabilizes above $62K ahead of the weekend

Bitcoin prices have been trading within a narrow range since surpassing the significant $60,000 mark on May 3. Other cryptocurrencies have also experienced a decline. Solana has experienced significant losses among the top altcoins, dropping 6.5% to $146, while ether has seen a decline of approximately 3.63% and is currently trading around $3,000.

Throughout the ongoing cycle, BTC and ETH have experienced a noticeable divergence in their individual performances.

Glassnode’s findings suggest that there is a noticeable trend of weaker capital rotation, especially when compared to previous cycles and all-time high breakthroughs.

Prior to bitcoin reaching its peak on March 14, Glassnode noticed a significant increase in speculative activity. According to its most recent on-chain weekly report, there has been a significant increase in capital accumulation among BTC holders in the short term. Approximately $240 billion worth of coins have been moved within the last six months, approaching peak levels of wealth held.

Ethereum, on the other hand, has not been able to achieve the same level of success. The top altcoin has yet to surpass its all-time high level from 2021. Bitcoin’s Short-Term Holder (STH) Realized Cap is currently approaching the level seen during the peak of the previous bull run. 

In contrast, Ethereum’s STH-Realized Cap has only experienced a minimal increase from its lows, suggesting a relatively unimpressive influx of fresh capital.

The lack of new capital inflows is a result of ETH’s underperformance in comparison to BTC. One possible reason for this could be the increased attention and ease of access provided by spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The market eagerly awaits the SEC’s decision on the approval of a suite of Ethereum ETFs, which is anticipated to be announced by the end of May.

How low can the crypto market sink?

Although ETH may have lagged behind BTC in terms of performance, Glassnode’s analysis indicates that the overall upward trend appears to be exceptionally strong, with relatively minor corrections thus far.

Currently, the value of Ethereum (ETH) stands at $3,000.09. This represents a slight decrease of 0.6% compared to an hour ago, and a 2.3% decline since yesterday. The current value of ETH has increased by 3.3% in the past week.

Glassnode observes that “When we break down capital flows and rotation between BTC and ETH, we can see that Bitcoin has received the lions share of inflows, likely driven in part by the US spot ETFs. Short-Term Holders and speculation activity appears concentrated within Bitcoin, with a remarkably weak spill-over into Ethereum thus far.”