Leading cryptocurrencies rallied, while stocks closed at new records on Wednesday on the Iran ceasefire extension, even as Strait of Hormuz tensions simmer.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:20 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) +2.39% $78,191.58
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               
+1.77% $2,366.07
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          -0.39% $1.42
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          +0.11% $86.48
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              +0.81% $0.09597

Crypto Market Gains Momentum

Bitcoin nearly topped $80,000 before easing off to the low $78,000s. Trading volume spiked 36% over the last 24 hours.

Ethereum topped $2,400, also supported by strong buying pressure,  while XRP and Dogecoin moved sideways.

Shares of Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed up 9.39% and 5.25%, respectively.

Over $460 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours,with $350 million in bearish positions alone wiped out, according to Coinglass data.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures rose 8.64% over the last 24 hours to $61.57 billion. Whale and retail traders on Binance, however, were “extremely bearish” on BTC, placing more shorts than longs.

“Fear” sentiment persisted in the market, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:20 p.m. EDT)
USD.A1 (CHIP)       +137.06%     $0.1323
Spark (SPK)                  +32.76%     $0.03881
Unibase (UB)            +24.71%     $0.05752

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.61 trillion, …

Full story available on Benzinga.com