- Bitcoin broke through the $50,000 level late Sunday, as the biggest cryptocurrency continued its comeback.
- Cardano's ada hit an all-time high as hopes for the Alonzo smart-contract upgrade buoyed the ether rival.
- Altcoin prices also rose, helping the market cap of the entire cryptocurrency market to climb above $2.2 trillion.
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Bitcoin moved above $50,000 for the first time since mid-May on Sunday, while cardano's native currency hit a fresh all-time high after rising to become the third-largest cryptocurrency last week.
Other digital tokens, including ether and binance coin, were moving higher too. The gains sent the value of the overall cryptocurrency market above $2.2 trillion on Monday, according to data from Coinmarketcap.
The biggest currency by market cap, bitcoin traded 2% higher at around $50,197 as of 4:35 a.m. ET on Monday. Meanwhile, cardano's ada continued its surge higher with a gain of 9% to reach $2.83, according to data from CoinDesk.
Over the last five days, bitcoin has gained almost 9% and is up more than 33% for the month as it stages a comeback from a collapse in June. It was down around 21% from April's record high of close to $65,000, but is still roughly 73% higher so far this year.
It last traded above $50,000 in mid-May, when its advance was driven by strong institutional demand and massive amounts of US monetary and fiscal stimulus, while bullish views from crypto advocates such as Tesla billionaire Elon Musk also played a part.
The digital asset lost ground after China's crackdown on the crypto sector hurt trading sentiment, while an about-turn from Musk stirred debate on bitcoin's environmental use.
While bitcoin has led the overall market's recovery, smaller digital coins such as solana, terra, avalanche, and fantom have also shot higher as they become more established and garner interest, Coinbase said in its weekly market commentary.
Cardano's ada has surged in recent days to edge out binance coin as the third biggest cryptocurrency by market cap. Ada has seen year-to-date returns of over 1,475%, as its use cases grow for decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens, and gaming. The rival to ether is getting a boost from hopes for its upcoming alonzo upgrade, which promises to add smart-contract capabilities to its blockchain when it arrives in October.
"The demand for alternative smart-contract platforms apart from ethereum becomes more apparent," Coinbase's institutional team wrote in a report.
Coinbase's team said ada's impressive gains suggest that investors are diversifying their crypto interests beyond ethereum and bitcoin.
A string of other positive developments has helped the crypto market make gains. Last week, Coinbase said it would add cryptocurrencies worth $500 million to its balance sheet and invest 10% of future profits into digital assets. On Monday, PayPal said it would allow people in the UK to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies.
"August is looking good for altcoins," crypto exchange Luno said in a recent report.