Bitcoin and XRP Rise, Outpacing Ethereum. Why Crypto Momentum Is Shifting. — Barrons.com

By Adam Clark

Bitcoin was gaining, but other cryptocurrencies were mixed early Thursday. That could suggest the largest crypto is reasserting its dominance over the sector.

Bitcoin's price was up 1.3% over the past 24 hours early Thursday, at around $113,099.

The world's largest cryptocurrency hit a new high of more than $124,000 earlier this month amid optimism over interest-rate cuts. Bitcoin has dropped back since then, but looks to be bouncing off recent lows of around $110,000 as President Donald Trump puts more pressure on the Federal Reserve to pursue his favored policy of lower rates.

Lower rates make risky assets such as stocks and digital assets more attractive relative to interest-bearing investments such as bonds. Reduced rates also tend to weaken the dollar, which boosts crypto valuations.

"[Bitcoin] has found some support around $110,000 while its daily MACD [ [Moving Average Convergence Divergence] has pulled back below neutral. While this indicates that momentum is to the downside, it also means that there's room for Bitcoin to rally from here should sentiment turn positive," wrote David Morrison, an analyst at Trade Nation, in a research note.

The MACD is a technical indicator used by some investors to track momentum in an asset.

In a reversal of recent trends, Bitcoin was performing better than many other major altcoins, including Ethereum, which was up 0.1%, while XRP rose 0.8% and Solana was up 5.5%. Dogecoin, which is a memecoin, was gaining 2.5%.

That could indicate the recent rotation away from Bitcoin and toward alternative cryptocurrencies is losing momentum. Bitcoin's dominance — its share of the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies — has fallen from more than 65% in late June to 58% now, according to crypto tracker CoinMarketCap.

"The growth of altcoins, coupled with the rise in stock indices, has created an environment of increased risk appetite, while BTC's decline to $110K has restored its attractiveness to buyers," wrote Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro chief market analyst, in a research note.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.