Dogwifhat (WIF) Surpass Pepecoin (PEPE) To Become Third-Largest Meme Coin As Bitcoin Price Holds Steady

Meme cryptocurrencies, led by Solana-based Dogwifhat (WIF), enjoyed their second consecutive day of surge as the broader market remained largely unchanged ahead of the long weekend in the US, Europe, and Asia. 

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, traded slightly above the $70,000 marker on Friday, showing little to no change in valuation over 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20, an index consisting of the largest crypto tokens minus stablecoins, was down 0.56% for the day. 

The Memecoin Market Surged by 8% Following Rumors of Dogecoin Integration on X

According to data from CoinGecko, the meme coin market surged 8% on average, outclassing market niches such as the more serious decentralized finance (DeFi), yield farms, and exchange-based tokens. 

The catalyst behind the rally that began on Thursday, 28th March 2024, was speculation that Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) may support Dogecoin (DOGE) as a payment service. The matter is yet to receive an official confirmation.  

Futures tracking DOGE jumped to record $2 billion on the back of the news, indicative of expectations of future price volatility with a bias towards long positions. 

Solana-Based Dogwifhat (WIF) is Now the Third-largest Meme Coin by Market Cap 

Dogecoin’s surge also resulted in other dog-themed tokens, including Solana-based FLOKI and Dogwifhat (WIF) gaining value. WIF even flipped the popular meme token Pepecoin (PEPE) to become the third-largest meme cryptocurrency by market capitalization after it crossed the $4 billion mark on Thursday. 

At the time of writing, WIF is trading at $4.51 – up over 20% in the last 24 hours.  

However, market experts have warned of a possible pullback event as the price action of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) showed signs of exhaustion. 

During a Telegram broadcast on Friday, Singapore-based QCP Capital noted that although the market has observed an exceptional rally in the first quarter of 2024, there were signs of price exhaustion. 

ETH risk reversals are skewed to the downside at -8%, indicating some fear in the market, while funding and forwards remained elevated. This means that speculators are still paying high prices to keep their leveraged long positions, noted the crypto trading firm. 

Although the analysts remain optimistic about the market’s performance, they are cautious about leveraged positions. 

BTC Prices Remain Above $70,000 as Spot Bitcoin ETFs Record Positive Weekly Inflows

The price of BTC gripped onto the $70,000 marker as inflows into the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued. 

This week, the funds tracking the apex cryptocurrency witnessed net positive inflows, led by spot Bitcoin ETFs from BlackRock and Fidelity. Monday saw an inflow of $15 million, while Tuesday and Wednesday recorded inflows of $418 million and $243 million, respectively. 

This is in contrast to the reversal experienced by the Bitcoin ETF market last week when it suffered outflows throughout the seven days. These outflows led to the price of Bitcoin declining from its all-time high of $73,000 on March 14, to a low of around $61,000 midweek. 

Last week’s downward pressure was the result of an increased outflow from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC). The fund suffered outflows each day of the week, with Tuesday, March 19th, being recorded as the single-largest day of selling at $326 million. 

Analysts are in the notion that the large-scale sell-off of GBTC shares could soon approach its end. This combined with the upcoming Bitcoin block reward halving event scheduled for April 19th, could see BTC prices rising again. 

Bitcoin a “Necessary Asset” in Investors’ Portfolio

While speaking to Yahoo Finance Live, Ross Mac, CEO of the financial consulting firm Maconomics, said that despite its volatility, Bitcoin has become a necessary asset in investors’ portfolios. 

He described investing in Bitcoin as a more “diversified approach” than traditional asset classes. Mac also noted that as the leading cryptocurrency gains more institutional investors, it may become “a lot less volatile moving forward”. He also considers Bitcoin one of the “greatest technological advancements” of human history, alongside artificial intelligence and the internet. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $70,065 – down 0.3% in the last 24 hours. 

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