After taking a breather last week, the crypto market picked up over the weekend and crypto stocks are reacting positively in early trading Monday. Meme coins, which provide no real value, are once again the hot topic of the day.
Coinbase Global (COIN 3.34%) has been one of the biggest winners. It was up 10.9% in early trading and is up 9.7% at 1 p.m. ET. Some of the biggest altcoins were also up big, with Solana (SOL 3.51%) up 13.5% from Friday's market close, Lido DAO (LDO 4.35%) gaining 13.2%, and Optimism (OP 4.10%) up 13.2%.
NASDAQ: COIN
Key Data Points
Bitcoin dominates the market
It's no surprise that when Bitcoin rises the rest of the market follows. In this case, Bitcoin is up 7.3% in the last 24 hours as I'm writing and altcoins have magnified that move.
As the biggest custodian for Bitcoin ETFs, Coinbase is one of the beneficiaries of the increase in Bitcoin's value and trading. In the last 24 hours, the exchange has $4 billion in trading volume, up sharply from around $1 billion during the lows of the crypto bear market.
Blockchains prove their worth
Solana continues to experience high transaction volume on the back of the meme coin phenomenon. The blockchain has recently seen a two-year high in both activity and total value locked, which is a measure of investment in tokens.
Lido DAO is up in part because there continues to be speculation an Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) is next after Bitcoin ETFs were approved. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently delayed a decision on Ethereum ETFs for at least 60 days, but didn't deny applications. If approved, Ethereum's value could rise and fees for staking platforms like Lido could go up, which is why the token is on the rise.
Optimism is the technology foundation of the Base blockchain launched by Coinbase and it's seeing major inflows as the crypto bull market continues. This is a scaling solution for Ethereum and as more activity hits the blockchain these scaling solutions are needed. And meme coins are once again playing a role, increasing the activity on the Base blockchain right now.
CRYPTO: SOL
Key Data Points
How high can crypto go?
Slowly but surely, the crypto market is gaining both price and development momentum. Prices are up almost on momentum alone and Bitcoin is the tide that's lifting all cryptocurrencies.
But the improvements on the blockchain are what I'm most excited about. Assets like bonds are being tokenized, decentralized exchanges are improving, and even alternative U.S. dollar tokens are growing in popularity.
The more that's built on the blockchain the more value there will be for tokens. The challenge is the legal framework in the U.S. and around the world, which is still unclear. But it seems there's momentum in getting more tokens approved and trading more widely as ETFs.
I'm bullish on crypto in general and think focusing on the use cases providing real utility like high speed, low costs, and foundations businesses can build on will provide the most value. Coinbase and Solana are proving to provide that for investors and while the momentum is up right now, don't be surprised if volatility is ahead.
