Past week has seen a flurry of activity in the cryptocurrency markets. bitcoin surpassed the $20,000 mark for the first time since before the collapse of ftx in early november, rising nearly 10% over the course of the week. ethereum rose 21% and crossed the $1,400 mark thursday, and avax, the native token of the avalanche blockchain, saw a remarkable 29% surge on wednesday. meanwhile, lido, the liquid staking protocol, saw encouraging developments on the ethereum network, and solana (sol) soared 44% over the past seven days to reach $22.54.
Events of the past week unfolded in the traditional financial markets as well. the s&p 500 and nasdaq posted their best weekly performances since november, and u.s. inflation slowed in december, leading markets to believe that the federal reserve may soon slow its escalation of interest rates. bitcoin was seen to be moving in lockstep with these traditional financial indicators and stock markets.
Events of the past week were driven by a combination of positive news and developments in the cryptocurrency markets. avax saw a surge after ava labs announced a partnership with amazon web services to facilitate the adoption of avalanche. ldo surged after users were able to withdraw their staked eth, and ethereum’s core developers reported no issues with the upcoming shanghai upgrade. bitcoin’s rise was seen to be in line with the traditional financial markets, and its original purpose of being an alternative financial system to wall street was reaffirmed.
