- Marathon Digital stock jumped 12% on Tuesday’s open as Bitcoin price has soared.
- BTC gains 7% on Tuesday to reach above $57,000 for the first time since December 2021.
- BTC halving is approximately 58 days away, leading the market to expect an uptrend.
- Consumer Confidence and Durable Goods Orders leaves the US market mixed.
Marathon Digital (MARA) is riding the Bitcoin price wave on Tuesday. MARA shot up more than 12% at Tuesday’s open, while Bitcoin (BTC) has advanced a solid 7% to $57,100 — its highest level since December of 2021.
Marathon Digital, a Bitcoin and crypto miner in addition to other ventures, hit its highest share price since January 2022. However, MARA stock lost some of its luster as the session progressed, and its rally diminished to 3.6% at the time of writing.
The wider market is mixed on Tuesday after US Durable Good Orders and Consumer Confidence figures both underwhelmed economists’ consensus. The Dow Jones has sunk 0.4%, while the NASDAQ has gained 0.1% at the time of writing.
Several narratives and news bites have joined hands to lift Bitcoin’s prospects of late. First, the advent of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January created a whole new doorway for the asset as money poured into at least 11 funds that have been approved by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). Word is that more are on the way.
All this new capital means that spot Bitcoin ETFs now account for 40% of the value of all Gold ETFs in just under two months. The ETFs make it easier for large investors to seamlessly invest in Bitcoin in the same way they would equities. Some ETF experts are already saying that Bitcoin ETFs will surpass the value of Gold ETFs in just two years.
Then despite Bitcoin conquering the $50,000 level in just the past month, MicroStrategy (MSTR) announced it would spend $155 million on acquiring another 3,000 BTC. This was a sign of confidence from the software corporation that has pinned its entire legacy to the king of crypto coins.
Additionally, the entire crypto ecosystem is staring with suspense as the calendar ticks inevitably toward the next Bitcoin halving. The current estimate based on mining hash rates is that the halving will commence in 58 days. This means that the current block reward handed out to Bitcoin miners like Marathon Digital of 6.25 BTC will be halved to 3.125 BTC. While miners gain less Bitcoin for their troubles, the price of Bitcoin tends to skyrocket in the 18 months following a halving.
Just last week, Marathon Digital launched a new service called Slipstream. The unit “is a direct Bitcoin transaction submission service designed to streamline confirmations of large or non-standard Bitcoin transactions.”
Bitcoin, altcoins, stablecoins FAQs
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a virtual currency designed to serve as money. This form of payment cannot be controlled by any one person, group, or entity, which eliminates the need for third-party participation during financial transactions.
Altcoins are any cryptocurrency apart from Bitcoin, but some also regard Ethereum as a non-altcoin because it is from these two cryptocurrencies that forking happens. If this is true, then Litecoin is the first altcoin, forked from the Bitcoin protocol and, therefore, an “improved” version of it.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable price, with their value backed by a reserve of the asset it represents. To achieve this, the value of any one stablecoin is pegged to a commodity or financial instrument, such as the US Dollar (USD), with its supply regulated by an algorithm or demand. The main goal of stablecoins is to provide an on/off-ramp for investors willing to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins also allow investors to store value since cryptocurrencies, in general, are subject to volatility.
Bitcoin dominance is the ratio of Bitcoin’s market capitalization to the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined. It provides a clear picture of Bitcoin’s interest among investors. A high BTC dominance typically happens before and during a bull run, in which investors resort to investing in relatively stable and high market capitalization cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. A drop in BTC dominance usually means that investors are moving their capital and/or profits to altcoins in a quest for higher returns, which usually triggers an explosion of altcoin rallies.
Marathon Digital stock pulled back quickly on Tuesday from its two-year high at $32.87. That is of course a bad sign, but the new range high should provoke further entry from bulls.
The $30 to $32 range provided support for much of 2021 and part of 2022, so traders will watch to see if MARA manages to use this price level as a base. Only a few weeks ago, MARA was trading near $16.
MARA daily stock chart
Despite MARA stock’s recent spike in share price, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits at 65. That is a decent level for bulls since MARA stock does not yet look overbought here. The 70 RSI level is typically viewed as the threshold for an overbought status.
Another point of pride for bulls is that the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) just recently overtook its 50-day SMA counterpart. This means that a longer rally is likely to enfold. The last time this happened, the November 15 to December 27 rally of 2023 was brought about.
