Cardano Leads The Altcoin Charge As USD Looks To Bounce Back

This week, Cardano (ADA) experienced the most significant surge among larger-cap altcoins, gaining over 10% in value overnight. Also, after a brief period of moving south and trading in the vicinity of or below the $41,000 mark, Bitcoin (BTC) bulls reemerged, propelling the asset beyond $43,000. As of the time of this writing, BTC is trading at just over $42,600.

Altcoins, according to information provided by CoinGecko, are also displaying positive momentum, with ADA standing out prominently, followed by DOT, SHIB, AVAX, and SOL. The total crypto market cap surged by over $60 billion at one point, yet it currently remains below $1.6 trillion.

BTC regains momentum

Following its peak at $44,700, BTC faced a less favorable outlook. It retraced to $44,000 over the weekend and experienced a significant drop on Monday, falling below $41,000. The situation worsened on Tuesday, dipping to $40,200. However, bulls defended that level, pushing BTC to around $42,000. After a failed attempt to reclaim this level on Tuesday, the asset surged once more yesterday evening, surpassing $42,000 and even reaching $43,000.

Moreover, while most alternative coins were in decline, the market managed to take a positive turn. As previously mentioned, ADA leads the way among larger-cap altcoins, with a daily surge of over 12%, currently trading close to $0.65. Solana, Polkadot, and Shiba Inu are following suit. Avalanche, Ethereum, Ripple, Dogecoin, Chainlink, and Polygon also recorded gains of up to 4%. Further gains were also evident in BONK, Helium, WOO Network, and Injective.

Other markets

Asian stocks saw advancement, boosted by the Chinese Central Bank injecting $112 billion into the financial system. Treasuries experienced a slight decrease, while the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index rose 1%, reaching its highest point since early August, with Hong Kong stocks rallying 3%. US equity futures inched higher, and the Nasdaq 100 declined after a more than 50% surge in 2023.

Elsewhere, contrary to consensus, some major money managers, including Fidelity International and HSBC Holdings, anticipate a stronger dollar next year. Some experts argue that a global economic slowdown will lead traders to favor USD going forward as it is still the global reserve currency.

However, some analysts are becoming increasingly skeptical about the sustainability of US consumer spending into the next year. Despite American shoppers displaying surprising resilience amid persistent inflation and elevated borrowing costs, sell-side analysts have reduced profit projections for the consumer discretionary sector over the past 12 weeks.