Bitcoin experienced some enhanced volatility yesterday when it was rejected at $97,500 and pushed south hard by three grand in hours before it settled at just over $95,000.

In contrast, numerous altcoins have outperformed, charting mindblowing surges, such as ADA, AVAX, TRX, LINK, HBAR, and many others.

BTC Stalls at $95K

It was just a week ago when the primary cryptocurrency slumped hard and fell below $91,000, which became its most violent correction since the Trump-induced rally started in early November. However, the asset didn’t stay there for long and started to recover ground in the following days.

The weekly peak came on Friday as BTC neared $99,000. Nevertheless, the bears managed to defend that level and pushed bitcoin down to approximately $96,500 during the weekend. Monday morning started with a surge to $98,000 but that was short-lived as BTC plunged to $95,000 almost immediately.

Another rollercoaster followed suit with bitcoin jumping to $97,500 before it was driven south once again to $94,500. Despite its recovery attempts since then, BTC now trades just inches above $95,000.

This decline means that BTC’s market cap has remained below $1.9 trillion, but its dominance over the alts has been pushed south hard. The metric is down to just 52% after peaking at nearly 60% weeks ago, according to CoinGecko.

These Alts Do Good

The past few days belonged to XRP and yesterday was no exception as the asset skyrocketed by another 25% at one point and neared $3 for the first time in almost seven years. Although it has retraced since then to $2.6, its market cap of $150 billion still places it as the third-largest cryptocurrency by that metric.

Other massive gainers over the past 24 hours include ADA, which has soared by 17%, AVAX (11%), TRX (14%), DOT (16%), LINK (27%), SUI (15%), HBAR (42%), and quite a few others.

The total crypto market cap has gained $70 billion since yesterday as it has all gone to the alts. The metric is above $3.6 trillion once again.

TL:DR;

• Cardano’s native token has emerged as one of the top performers today, surging to $1.3 to mark a multi-year peak.
• The community was quick to pick up the move and outline some massive predictions of up to $6.

ADA’s Bull Rally

ADA stood at around $0.32 on November 5, the day of the US elections, and was relatively sluggish at first, even as the rest of the market was charting impressive gains following Trump’s decisive victory.

However, its own rally began that weekend when IOG founder Charles Hoskinson said he will spend a lot of time in 2025 working alongside the Trump administration to establish a more favorable and comprehensive crypto policy in the States.

Cardano’s token exploded to over $0.6 at the time, but more promising hints coming from Hoskinson sent it further north. ADA neared $1 and after a few rejections there managed to break above that level.

Its rally was stalled for a few days but the bulls are back in charge now as they pushed ADA to just over $1.3 earlier today, which meant a 20% surge at one point. This became the asset’s highest price point since mid-January 2022.

Consequently, ADA has overtaken USDC and is now the eighth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, as the metric stands above $45 billion.

ADA to $6?

ADA’s breakout led many analysts to speculate on its future price growth. Some of the more modest predictions indicated that the asset could rise up to $1.5 next, which sounds achievable even for the short-term, given the recent price developments in the market.

Popular analyst Ali also outlined the same target following ADA’s price surge above $1.25, which invalidated a previous forecast for a 20% correction.

Invalidated! $ADA goes to $1.50 next. https://t.co/OhJXrA2MSM

— Ali (@ali_charts) December 2, 2024

While $1.5 seems very plausible at the moment, others made some big claims that ADA could peak at $6 during this cycle. AllInCrypto’s analyst based this prediction on ADA’s behavior during the 2017 and 2021 bull runs. It’s worth noting that such a price tag would put Cardano’s market capitalization at over $210 billion. In the current environment, this sounds slightly exaggerated as this would make ADA the third-largest digital asset.

[PRESS RELEASE – New York, United States, December 3rd, 2024]

Smile Shop, the premier Asian e-commerce platform, has partnered with Conflux Network, China’s only regulatory-compliant public blockchain, to launch the BitUnion prepaid card. This partnership signifies a major expansion into global digital asset payment with cards welcome in 183 countries and regions.

The BitUnion prepaid card operates on the recently launched UnionPay International USD prepaid card framework. UnionPay International, the world’s second-largest card payment processor, ensures seamless financial transactions. Users can load funds onto the card to make online purchases, use it at point-of-sale machines, or withdraw cash from UnionPay ATMs across 183 countries. The card can also be linked with popular third-party payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay. Whether offline or online, transactions are settled at real-time exchange rates between local currencies and USD. The account approval process is quick, and management fees are waived during the initial launch period.

As a key product in Conflux’s PayFi ecosystem, the prepaid card incorporates experienced security authentication systems from traditional finance. User data is managed by professional institutions, ensuring security and compliance. Fiat assets are held within the UnionPay account system, guaranteeing absolute security and reliability. The BitUnion prepaid card has obtained the highest-level financial security certifications, including 3DS and PCI-DSS, comprehensively protecting cardholders’ payment security.

The prepaid card will support digital asset transactions and transfers within the Conflux Network, leveraging the blockchain-based PayFi system to overcome limitations in traditional payment infrastructure. Introducing traditional financial models (from credit cards to invoice financing and reverse factoring) into blockchain creates a more integrated value network. Conflux’s PayFi (Pay Finance) addresses inefficiencies in traditional payment systems while keeping financial operations aligned with real-time data, creating a large-scale model for blockchain consumer application ecosystems.

As a high-performance Layer1 blockchain, Conflux has been at the forefront of technological advancements, particularly in the development of Stablecoins. They are now expanding their focus to encompass a comprehensive Payments infrastructure and cultivate the PayFi ecosystem. Aiming to become the blockchain of choice for consumer-grade Payments in the future, Conflux Foundation has committed 500 million CFX from the ecosystem fund to fuel the growth of PayFi stack components.

About Smile Shop 

Smile Shop is a super e-commerce platform under Smile Shop Holdings Pte (Singapore), targeting Southeast Asian markets with the vision of becoming Southeast Asia’s most trusted fintech super e-commerce platform.

About Conflux Network 

Conflux Network is a permissionless Layer 1 blockchain that connects decentralized economies worldwide. It utilizes a hybrid PoW/PoS consensus mechanism, ensuring a fast, secure, and scalable blockchain environment. Conflux operates without congestion, maintains low fees, and prioritizes network security.

Being the leading regulatory-compliant public blockchain in China, Conflux offers advantages for projects entering the Asian market. In its partnerships, Conflux collaborates with global brands and government entities including, Shanghai, China Telecom, Little Red Book (China’s Instagram), McDonald’s China, and Oreo. These noteworthy collaborations serve as a testament to Conflux’s unwavering dedication to driving blockchain and metaverse initiatives.