Bitcoin prices jumped on Wednesday, trading back above $4,000 and putting the cryptocurrency on track for its best session in more than three weeks.
In early afternoon trade, one bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.24% was changing hands at $4,027.04.80, up 2.3% since Tuesday’s level at 5 p.m. Eastern time. The digital currency is set to book its best session since March 5, when it gained 3.6%.
What are analysts saying
“We can’t go from [crypto] winter to summer in a few days, probably not even in a few weeks,” wrote Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro. “Spring is generally a time of volatility where hot and cold often surprise us. Though bitcoin has yet to snap the bear market, I do believe that crypto winter is now over and we are entering spring.”
The crypto winter is how industry pundits describe the prolonged bear market of 2018 and into 2019.
Altcoins and futures
Altcoins — the group of more than 2,000 cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin — were moving higher on Wednesday. Ether, ETHUSD, -0.12% gained 3.2% to $137.42, Litecoin LTCUSD, -0.95% rose 4.7% to $60.59, Bitcoin Cash BCHUSD, +0.06% was the best-performing major altcoin, trading higher by 6% to $165.40 and XRP XRPUSD, -0.39% added 2.6% to 31 cents.
The broad-based rally in digital currencies has added more than $4 billion to the total value of all cryptocurrencies, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
After logging back-to-back losing sessions to start the week, bitcoin futures closed sharply higher on Wednesday. The Cboe April contract XBTJ9, -0.12% gained 2.6% to $4,000 and the CME March contract BTCH9, -0.12% added 2.4% to $4,000.