13.04.202116:30 Forex Analysis & Reviews: Altcoins set new records, and crypto market capitalization grows by 3.5%: reasons and forecasts.

The second quarter of 2021 was marked by a rapid growth in the cryptocurrencies market and by new historical records. Following bitcoin, which reached the level of $62,900, ETH, XRP, and LTC are also heading for new highs. Amid a surge in major cryptocurrencies, the total market cap has grown by 3.5% over the past 24 hours.

The main altcoin, Ethereum, has jumped by 3% over the past 24 hours to reach $2,227. At the same time, the asset maintains steady growth of 0.3% on smaller time frames. ETH daily trading volumes also increase and have exceeded $31 billion. In addition to the positive news background, the quotes of the ETH/USD pair were influenced by the statement of the famous crypto trader Scott Melker. The analyst believes that in 2021, the price of the main altcoin may exceed $10,000. Analysts at the Kraken crypto exchange gave an even more positive forecast, saying that ether will be able to conquer the milestone of $15,000 by the end of this year.

In addition, Ethereum is about to transit to a new operating model. That is why more and more market participants are switching to the Ethereum network as they are encouraged by a number of advantages that the Ethereum blockchain provides to its users. Now we can see only a short version of how ETH/USD will grow in the near future. Amid such a positive background and consolidation of bitcoin quotes, Ethereum climbed higher. If the digital currency manages to settle firmly at the current levels and the market sentiment remains the same, then the altcoin may continue to rise to $2,500.

The Ripple token also maintains positive dynamics as it has been showing excellent performance in April. Over the past day, the altcoin has advanced by 22% and renewed its historical high at $1,726. After that, the quotes of the cryptocurrency dropped to $1,677. So, the local price dynamics were negative (-1.3%). The daily trading volume has not increased either in comparison with yesterday's data and amounted to $20.5 billion. At the same time, the background for Ripple is rather positive. It was reported recently that the court denied the SEC's request to provide personal financial information of Ripple executives. Despite the current strong position and rapid growth, XRP/USD does not seem to be a priority for market participants, judging by the daily trading volumes. This is due to the uncertainty of the legal dispute between the SEC and Ripple. However, given the fairly strong support for the coin as well as the general dynamics of the market, XRP may continue to grow to the area of $1.8.

In response to the market's active growth, Litecoin resumed its uptrend and renewed its all-time high. Over the past day, the asset has added 4.7%, reaching $266. Considering the negative changes in quotes over the past few hours and the average daily trading volume of $9 billion, the altcoin failed to maintain its position. However, given the overall market sentiment and strong support at current levels, LTC could head for the $280 mark and start rising from the $240 support level.

Apart from separate supporting factors that led to a rally in altcoins, it is worth mentioning the end of consolidation of bitcoin prices. This allowed BTC to overcome the level of $60,000 and served as a driver for the entire market. In addition, cryptocurrencies skyrocketed ahead of the Coinbase listing on NASDAQ. This will make Coinbase the first public crypto exchange and will significantly raise the interest in the market among institutional investors. Another platform, Binance, is launching its tradable stock tokens pegged to the shares of large companies. Given the current upside dynamics as well as a positive news background, cryptocurrency quotes may continue to rise in the next few days.