Bitcoin, Ether Bounce After Disastrous Week for Crypto Market

The crypto market is witnessing a relief rally on Monday, as bargain-hunting helps major coins regain some poise following last week’s drubbing. Bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency by market value, is changing hands near $36,500 at press time, representing a 5% gain on the day. The rise comes after a 25% decline over the week ended May 23 – the second straight weekly loss and the biggest since March 2020, per CoinDesk 20 data.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, is trading 8% higher at $2,257 (up 7.6%), having dropped by 41% over the same period – its most significant weekly decline on record. Other prominent coins like Binance’s BNB token, internet computer protocol, bitcoin cash, polkadot are seeing 8–10% gains. Coins associated with decentralized finance (DeFi) such as LINK and UNI are trading 22% and 13% higher, respectively.

Demand from wealthy investors looks to have brought relief to the battered cryptocurrencies. “Crypto funds, macro funds, opportunistic venture capitalists are beginning to buy this dip in BTC, ETH as well as blue-chip DeFi by staggering limit orders and running longer time-weighted average prices,” crypto financial services provider Amber Group tweeted early Monday.

The dip-buying shows large investors remain confident of long-term bullish prospects of cryptocurrencies in the wake of recent environmental and regulatory concerns. “The long-term thesis for crypto remains unchanged. Inflation, decentralization, privacy, programmability, seizure-resistance, and censorship-resistance…these are the secular drivers of adoption,” angel investor and entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan tweeted.

Bitcoin, Ether Bounce After Disastrous Week for Crypto Market, CoinDesk, May 24