2 metrics signal traders do not expect $2T crypto market cap anytime soon
Cryptocurrencies failed to break the 42-day long downtrend after the $1.95 trillion capitalization resistance was rejected on March 20. Even though Bitcoin (BTC) gained a modest 3.7% over the past seven days, altcoins presented a robust rally.
Crypto markets' aggregate capitalization showed a 6.2% increase to $1.92 trillion between March 14-21. Such performance was positively impacted by Ether's (ETH) 14% gains, Cardano (ADA) increasing 13%, and Solana (SOL) gaining 10%.
While those assets were not the biggest weekly gains among the top-80 coins, Ether may have fueled investors' expectations after Glassnode's on-chain data showed that ETH balances on crypto exchanges reached their lowest levels since 2018.
Comparing the winners and losers provides skewed results as only two names presented negative performances over the past seven days:
Ethereum Classic (ETC) rallied 51% after the HebeSwap decentralized exchange application surpassed $290 million in total value locked. With liquidity pools growing on the protocol, Ethereum Classic appears to have a decentralized finance (DeFi) hub of its own.
AAVE gained 35% following its v3 liquidity pool upgrade on March 16, adding cross-chain asset functionality, a community contribution tool, and a gas optimization model. Several wallet-based decentralized applications (DApps) will be integrated, including Instadapp, Debank, 1Inch, Paraswap, Zapper, DeFisaver, Zerion and more.
Kusama (KSM) gained 31% after Parity Technology confirmed that it will enable parachain (sidechain) swaps on the upcoming 0.9.18 release. Moreover, Manta Network's on-chain privacy Dolphin Testnet reached 30,000 transactions on March 14.
The OKX Tether (USDT) premium is a good gauge of China-based retail trader crypto
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