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First Mover Americas: Solana Breaks Out to New Cycle Highs

The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for November 18, 2024.

By Krisztian Sandor, Omkar Godbole|Edited by Sheldon Reback

Updated Nov 18, 2024, 1:21 p.m. Published Nov 18, 2024, 1:21 p.m.

This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter, putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.

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CoinDesk 20 Index: 2,927.56 +1.66%

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Solana' SOL topped $240 for the first time in three years as BTC$99,666.81 took a breather above $90,000. SOL advanced 4.3% in the past 24 hours, outperforming the broad-market benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index's 1.6% gain. Bitcoin, meanwhile, pulled back slightly to just above $90,000 before U.S. trading hours as investors digested the monster rally to records since Donald Trump's election victory. Still, the largest crypto's pause may be only temporary: BTC may potentially climb as high as $200,000, according to BCA Research analysis of fractal patterns.

JPMorgan's retail sentiment score for bitcoin and bitcoin-tied assets hit a record as crypto euphoria spread. The metric, which is designed to gauge the sentiment of retail investors toward cryptos based on activity in BTC-related products including spot ETFs, climbed to an all-time high of 4 last week, indicating investor frenzy. MicroStrategy (MSTR) options positioning also shows extreme levels of bullishness typically seen near local market peaks. "Call skew in MSTR is so wildly euphoric that it is hard to imagine we don't see a more meaningful drawdown unless bitcoin continues to move in a parabolic fashion higher," pseudonymous analyst Markets&Mayhem said.

XRP catapulted to a three-year high over the weekend to more than $1.20 with futures bets soaring to record levels. Open interest for XRP derivatives surpassed $2 billion on Sunday, betting on further volatility in the price of the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The trend is fueled by optimism about easing regulatory headwinds as a crypto-friendly Trump administration may benefit tokens linked to U.S.-based companies such as Ripple Labs. Additionally, the forthcoming addition of Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin and French bank Société Générale-backed euro stablecoin to XRP Ledger could boost institutional adoption of the network.