BTC, ETH See Small Price Spikes; Most Altcoins Follow

Bitcoin values continue to fluctuate on the crypto price charts as global economic slowdown and geo-political tensions continue to affect investments. On Wednesday, April 18, Bitcoin opened in greens after registering losses on previous days this week. The oldest cryptocurrency bagged 1.57 percent in profits to trade at $43,229 (roughly Rs. 33 lakh) on Indian exchange CoinSwitch Kuber. On international exchanges as well, Bitcoin scored tiny gains. With a value spike of 1.80 percent, BTC rose to the price of $41,413 (roughly Rs. 31.5 lakh) as per Coinbase.

Ether followed Bitcoin's trajectory and registered similar small profits. As per Gadgets 360's crypto price tracker, ETH grew by 1.60 percent to trade at $3,229 (roughly Rs. 2.5 lakh).

Larger number of altcoins moved up the price ladder today, following the lead of Bitcoin and Ether.

Binance Coin, Solana, Terra, Cardano, and Avalanche emerged among gainers.

They were further joined by Polygon, Litecoin, Cosmos, and Chainlink among others.

Both meme coins, Doge as well as Shiba Inu also reeled-in minor, but significant gains.

Stablecoins pegged against the US dollar however, saw dips in the backdrop of US' current economic climate pointing at recession times.

Tether and USD Coin are two such stablecoins that dropped in values.

Steller, Monero, and Ripple also witnessed small-scale losses.

The current market cap of the crypto sector has also risen to stand at $1.91 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,46,22,482 crore). On March 18, the market cap of the crypto sector was around $1.80 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,37,92,882 crore).

The digital assets sector is exploding in popularity, not just in terms of cryptocurrencies.

Automaker Hyundai and UAE's Emirates airlines are the latest brands to jump into the metaverse and NFT wagon.

The safety of the virtual assets industry, however, remains a matter of concern among lawmakers.

In a fresh development, the US has warned North Korea against striking blockchain firms with cyberattacks.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.