Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced a significant milestone as it briefly reached its all-time high above $69,000 on March 5, after almost three years. This achievement has been hailed as a historic moment for the asset and the entire crypto industry, according to Kraken managing director Jonathon Miller.
The impressive 56% year-to-date gain of Bitcoin has also sparked interest in various memecoins. Leading altcoins like Floki and Baby Doge have seen substantial returns ranging from 80% to 289% in just the past week, with a remarkable 840% surge in trading volume during the same period. Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, attributes the rise of these memecoins to their deployment on Ethereum and Solana chains, which are typically priced in ETH and SOL on decentralized exchange platforms. Consequently, the upward trend in ETH and SOL prices drives the value of meme coins.
On the same day, the Solana memecoin Dogwifhat (WIF) experienced a significant increase in anticipation of its listing on Binance, with a 400% gain in the past week alone. Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics firm, reports that one trader made a staggering $4.3 million on WIF by investing 20 SOL ($1,156) on November 24, 2023, just four days after WIF’s launch.
Despite the high prices, development activities within the Bitcoin ecosystem are still thriving. Bitmap, a prominent layer-1 solution on the Bitcoin network, has developed a BRC-420 metaverse protocol native to the network, as highlighted by Bitcoin venture capital fund 9.Bit. This protocol allows users to purchase bitmap land and acquire avatars, pets, game assets, and background music from the BRC-420 Marketplace for use in Bitmap apps. Additionally, Bitmap’s Merlin Chain enables the swapping of BRC-420 assets between nonfungible and fungible tokens. The project currently boasts a market capitalization of $180 million.
In conclusion, the recent achievements and developments in the Bitcoin and memecoin markets demonstrate the continued growth and innovation within the crypto industry.