Aptos Layer 1 Blockchain Token Hits All-Time High

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The layer-1 blockchain token Aptos, which has been rising year-to-date, hit an all-time high on Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Crypto Markets Today, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter diving into what’s been happening in today’s crypto markets. Subscribe to receive it in your inbox every day.

The token, APT, has hit new all-time highs and is up 427% since Jan. 1, according to data from CoinDesk.

APT was most recently changing hands at $18.30, a gain of over 46% in the past 24 hours.

The rally in tokens outsized recent moves in the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, bitcoin and ether. Bitcoin is up 30% in 2023 while Ether has gained 34%.

However, the token’s funding rates are still negative, suggesting that traders expect the rally to be short-lived.

If traders are willing to open short positions with deep negative funding rates, they must have faith that the token will decline, said Christopher Newhouse, a crypto derivatives trader at crypto market maker GSR. Despite the push, it suggests the shorts believe the rally may have gone too far.

(CoinDesk Research)

Bitcoin (BTC): The largest cryptocurrency by market value rebounded from a late Tuesday slump to trade recently at around $22,950, roughly flat over the past 24 hours. BTC fell below $22,500 the previous day along with most other major cryptos as many investors likely took profits after a four-day rally. Bitcoin has grown over 35% in value this year.

The stocks traded sideways with the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, which has a strong tech component, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), all down mere bits of a percentage point. Investors chewed through the latest cascade of fourth-quarter earnings, including those from Boeing and Microsoft.

Ether (ETH): ETH had yet to recover as much ground as bitcoin since the crypto’s fall on Tuesday. The second-largest crypto by market value recently changed hands at around $1,580, down around 2.1%.

The story continues

Popular coins dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB) fell around 2.6% and 3.3%, respectively.

Axie infinity (AXS): Play-to-earn giant Axie Infinity’s AXS cryptocurrency, which hit a four-month high of $13.94 earlier on Monday and rose 13% at one point on Tuesday, has continued to soar. AXS recently rose by around 2%.

CoinDesk Market Index (CMI)

1,089.09

+7.6 0.7%

Bitcoin (BTC)

$23,680

+824.2 3.6%

Ethereum (ETH)

$1,624

+30.8 1.9%

S&P 500 daily close

4,016.22

0.7 0.0%

Gold

$1,948

+14.1 0.7%

10-year Treasury yield

3.46%

0.0

BTC/ETH Price by CoinDesk Indices; gold is the COMEX spot price. Prices from around 4 p.m. ET

By Glenn Williams Jr.

Derivatives markets are signaling positive sentiment for bitcoin.

The current bitcoin futures structure is in contango, a condition that exists when the price of bitcoin futures exceeds the price of bitcoin in spot markets.

Contango is represented by an ascending forward curve. The opposite condition is backwardation, where futures prices are below spot prices and represented by a descending price curve.

In traditional markets, where supply, demand and physical storage are important factors, contango is often a bearish sign because the difference between the futures price and the spot price is largely based on the cost of transport and storage of this asset.

(TradingView)

Read the full technical take here.

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