KEY POINTS

  • Bitcoin, Ether rise 
  • Top coins gain
  • Meme cryptos surge

The cryptocurrency market turned green after two days of trading lower. Meme crypto Shiba Inu became the major driver of the market, with most of the top 10 tokens also trading higher.

The global market cap was up 0.81% at $1.87 trillion, as of 4.11 a.m. ET, CoinMarketCap data showed.

Shiba Inu surged 20.98% to $0.0000276. The surge came as a result of the meme token finally getting listed on Robinhood Wednesday. Shiba Inu is also going to launch its metaverse Wednesday.

Bitcoin surged 0.03% to $40,176. Ethereum, too, rose 1.09% to $3056. Majority of top 10 tokens traded in the green. Meme crypto Dogecoin too surged. Stablecoins Tether and USDcoin, however, dipped.

Industry insiders believe that the surge in the overall crypto market alligns with U.S. inflation hitting a new high, reaching 8.5% in the past year, which is the highest in ocer 40 years.

"Crypto’s reaction to the bleak economy is yet another indication of its safe haven characteristic as investors hedge on digital assets in times of uncertainty," CoinDCX told International Business Times.

"While bitcoin continues to strengthen its correlation with the US traditional stock market, this could be yet another sign of the leading digital currency’s maturity as investors bet on crypto as a symbol of its progressive idea."

In other news, Australian cricket has announced that it will be stepping into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), adding to the already booming sports NFT industry.

The crypto market is extremely volatile and experts recommend investors not make decisions based on the sudden shift in prices.

A representations of cryptocurrency  Monero is seen in front of a stock graph and U.S. dollar in this illustration taken, January 24, 2022.
A representations of cryptocurrency Monero is seen in front of a stock graph and U.S. dollar in this illustration taken, January 24, 2022. Reuters / Dado Ruvic