Bitcoin Surges 5% to $82,000, Altcoins Follow as SEC Delays Key Decisions

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a significant relief rally, surging to nearly $82,000 after briefly dipping below $78,000 late Sunday. This upward movement triggered a slight increase in the value of major tokens, including Ether (ETH), BNB Chain’s BNB, XRP, and Cardano’s ADA, which all rose by as much as 3%. This broad-based rally also lifted the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index by nearly 4%, providing some respite from the losses incurred over the past week.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed decisions on several key filings related to XRP, Dogecoin, and Litecoin. This hesitation from the regulator has kept the market in a state of uncertainty, despite previous analyst predictions that pegged the odds of ETF approval for these cryptocurrencies at high percentages by the end of the year.

Traders are now closely monitoring the possibility of a pullback to the $74,000 level, with some speculating that a further decline could occur before an eventual push higher. Alex Kuptsikevich, a chief market analyst, noted that while a similar decline in the past would have completed a corrective pullback and attracted buyers, the current market dynamics are different. The influence of traditional financial companies has strengthened the link between the crypto market and stock dynamics, making the scenario of a pullback to the $70-$74K area the most probable outcome. This assessment is further supported by the recent consolidation and rebound in early March, which has taken the short-term oversold stance out of the market.

The gains in BTC came as Senator Cynthia Lummis reintroduced the BITCOIN Act, advocating for the U.S. to acquire 1 million BTC as a strategic reserve. The bill, initially introduced last year, proposes that the government purchase 1 million bitcoins over a five-year period. The first $6 billion in remittances from reserve banks would be allocated each year between 2025 and 2029 to build up the reserve, relying on the Fed’s gold certificates. Some market participants have speculated about the potential inclusion of major tokens in such a reserve in the future, which could further boost the value of altcoins like XRP, SOL, and ADA. Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, highlighted that these altcoins pumped higher than expected following the reintroduction of the strategic Bitcoin reserve bill, with speculation that they could be included in future reserve purchases.