Ether hits new highs in 2023 as Bitcoin trades flat

by James · April 5, 2023

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(Kitco News) – It was another day of sideways trading for the crypto market on Wednesday as Bitcoin held steady above $28,000. Meanwhile, gold rose to its highest price in over a year on rising US debt levels, a weaker dollar and investor uncertainty in the global economy.

US stocks traded lower after data revealed private sector job growth slowed in December, while a separate print showed a slowdown in growth for US service providers. At the close of the markets, the S&P and Nasdaq were in the red, down 0.25% and 1.07%, respectively, while the Dow managed to end up 0.24%.

Data from TradingView shows that Bitcoin (BTC) price experienced a 3.13% intraday swing, falling from a high of $28,834 in the early trading hours to a low of $27,935 before bidding back above the reliable support level of $28 200.

BTC/USD 1-Day Chart. Source: TradingView

April Bitcoin futures continue to trade higher, according to Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff, who noted that “The market is trading sideways at higher levels after hitting a contract high last week.”

Wyckoff said the current break is not bearish, and Bitcoin bulls “still have the firm overall technical advantage in the near term.” He added that “The price trend on the daily bar chart has also stalled but remains in place.”

While Bitcoin is stuck in consolidation territory, Ether (ETH) rose to a daily high of $1,940, its highest price since August. The higher increase has been attributed to the fast-approaching Shanghai hard fork – set to take place on April 12 – which will enable staking from the Beacon chain for the first time since its launch in December 2020.

ETH/USD 1-Day Chart. Source: TradingView

The move higher in Ether has excited many in the crypto community, leading some to get into the second-ranked crypto before it hits $2,000. This prompted market analyst Crypto Tony to offer the following advice to anyone starting to feel the urge to FOMO into the token.

Things are looking peachy at the moment, but once #Ethereum $ETH starting to take advantage of the major resistance levels around $2000 – $2000.. That’s when I would think about taking profits and reducing risk if we decline

So we can predict the next move ✅

— Crypto Tony (@CryptoTony__) 5 April 2023

Altcoins are trending higher

As is often the case when Bitcoin trades sideways, select altcoins saw a boost in prices on Wednesday as traders appeared to be positioning themselves ahead of a possible bull run.

Daily performance in the cryptocurrency market. Source: Coin360

MIL.k (MLK) was the biggest gainer of the day, rising 59.54% to trade at $0.493, while Coin98 (C98) gained 19.97% and Bora (BORA) climbed 17.4%.

The total cryptocurrency market cap is now $1.197 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 45.7%.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect the views of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is for informational purposes only. It is not an invitation to exchange goods, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept responsibility for any loss and/or damage arising from the use of this publication.