"Altcoins" lead the rally in cryptocurrencies as Bitcoin crosses $22,000

19 Jul 2022 , 10:17 AM

The rise in cryptocurrency prices was driven by smaller, less well-known digital tokens known as “altcoins,” which saw Bitcoin rise toward $23,000.

The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, increased by as high as 10.7% on Tuesday in Asia. Solana contributed 13%, while Polkadot roughly 7%. At one time, Bitcoin increased by 6.8% and was worth $22,880.

After Ethereum blockchain engineers announced a target for the much-awaited software update that is expected to reduce the network’s energy consumption, Ether has been on the rise since last week.

Investors are closely monitoring any signs that Bitcoin is departing from its recent trend of oscillating between $19,000 and $22,000.
Since mid-June, when reports that cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network had blocked withdrawals spurred further panic selling, the token hasn’t regularly traded above that range. In May, virtual currencies took a beating after the TerraUSD stablecoin failed.

Altcoins tend to be more volatile as they are favoured by more speculative traders and tend to be less liquid, this means that altcoins frequently outperform Bitcoin during price rallies and underperform during price declines.