Following a tumultuous 2023, the cryptocurrency market appears to be on the upswing. The bitcoin industry seems to be rebounding after a turbulent 2023. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently approved the listing of eleven distinct firms, including major players in the market like Fidelity and BlackRock, as spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
It makes sense that retail investors’ interest in cryptocurrencies has increased in light of this SEC permission. Emerging competitors like Solana and Injective are vying for a piece of the digital market, even if well-established players like Bitcoin and Ether are anticipated to continue being important parts of investment portfolios.
It’s a good idea to examine current patterns and look for any possible upswings in the upcoming month as we approach March 2024. Three prominent coins—XRP, Ethereum, and Bitcoin—emerge as leaders, each expected to make big moves.
Crypto Market Insight
Bitcoin
The original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is still at the top of the market thanks to its strong infrastructure and broad user base.Bitcoin, the most established and well-liked cryptocurrency token available, was the catalyst for the whole industry. Since its modest start in 2009, it has reached incredible heights and attracted the interest of corporations, investors, and the media. The network is secured by Proof of Work consensus and is utilized as an alternative to cash payments. Every transaction is recorded on a blockchain, and miners are rewarded for validating each block of transactions. At $51,565.06, Bitcoin has a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion. Furthermore, the stability of Bitcoin and its attractiveness to institutional investors highlight its growing potential.
XRP
The price of ripple, commonly referred to as XRP, rose sharply in 2021 but fell sharply in 2022. One XRP coin was worth 0.54 US dollars as of February 25, 2024. In contrast, XRP failed to hit the milestone that Ethereum’s price proceeded to surpass in terms of all-time highs. Remarkably, unlike most other cryptocurrencies that saw their price increases in late 2020, XRP’s happened very late, mostly in early 2021. These increases came after Ripple was the target of a legal complaint filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 2020, which precipitated a sharp decline in the price of XRP from approximately 0.70 to 0.20 USD.
XRP distinguishes itself from other cryptocurrencies by its practical use case and emphasis on enabling real-time, cross-border payments. XRP, with a market value of about $30 billion and a current price of $0.5452, is known for its low transaction costs, scalability, and speedy underlying technology called the XRP Ledger.
Ethereum
Despite not reaching its lowest known price, Ethereum’s price trajectory suggests that the cryptocurrency had much less value in 2022 compared to late 2021. Ethereum’s price increased in 2021 for completely different causes than that of Bitcoin (BTC). Notably, Ethereum gained notoriety when the world’s most expensive NFT—a digital artwork—sold for more than 38,000 ETH, or 69.3 million USD. Ethereum’s price increase was sparked by technological improvements that caused traders to become very excited, in contrast to Bitcoin, whose price spike was driven by the IPO of the largest U.S. crypto trader, Coinbase. Ethereum is a platform that powers the non-fungible token (NFT) and decentralized finance (DeFi) industries. It is well known for its smart contract capabilities.
Ethereum, which is currently valued at $3,000 and has a $357 billion market capitalization, promises better scalability and energy efficiency when it moves to a proof-of-stake consensus process with Ethereum 2.0.
Ethereum is also well-positioned for expansion, with a big upgrade in the works and an ETH ETF expected in the first quarter. This revolutionary update might cause significant price movement, solidifying Ethereum’s position as a leading innovator in the blockchain space.