Total crypto market cap reclaims $1 trillion as Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins breakout

Crypto traders found cause for celebration on July 18 as the total market capitalization climbed back above the $1 trillion mark following weeks of widespread selling after Bitcoin (BTC) price swept yearly lows below $18,000.

The green day for cryptocurrencies largely tracks a positive day in the traditional markets, which are up modestly despite analyst estimates that the Federal Reserve intends to raise interest rates by at least 75 basis points at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on July 27.

While traders will welcome July 18's positive price action, many analysts caution that the upswing is nothing more than a bear market pump. Let's take a look at the current top performers.

Bitcoin holds a 16% gain

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that over the past week, Bitcoin has rallied significantly and at the time of writing BTC holds a 16% weekly gain from its recent low at $18,907.

The top cryptocurrency now finds itself running square into the resistance found at its 200-week moving average, which also happens to be the upper bound of the trading range BTC has been trapped in since the middle of June.

This level has proven to be a tough nut to crack over the past five weeks as multiple attempts to break above it have been met with rejection. It remains to be seen if Bitcoin will manage to break free of this level and move higher or spend longer trading between $19,000 and $22,000.

$BTC battling that 200 Week MA again. Rejected 3 times in the last 5 weeks here.

Decision time imo.

We either have a fat breakout or fat breakdown. $ETH has been leading the market so far, along with many other altcoins. Breakouts occurring everywhere.

Can $BTC follow suit? pic.twitter.com/6Cz49po8CH

— Taner ⚡️ (@Taner_Crypto) July 18, 2022

Ethereum Merge surge presents a 43% rally

Ethereum (ETH) has also experienced a boost in momentum and price over the past week, climbing 43% from a low of $1,005 on July 13 to a daily high at $1,530 on July 18, reaching its highest price since June 12.

Ether has been showing increased momentum since the successful July 6 completion of the Merge on the Sepolia testnet. A further boost to its price was provided on July 15 when it was announced that the mainnet Merge is predicted to take place on September 19.

While the September 19 date is still tentative and should be considered as a roadmap projection and not a hard deadline, the prospect of the Merge finally taking place after years of preparation is exciting the community and possibly driving demand for Ether.

Related: Bitcoin price nears critical 200-week moving average as Ethereum touches $1.5K

MATIC keeps moving

On the altcoin front, Polygon (MATIC) continues to lead the pack higher following a week of several major announcements including being selected to participate in Disney’s 2022 Accelerator Program, gaining 32.4% over the past 24 hours and trading near resistance at $0.94.

Other notable gainers on the 24-hour chart include a 19.6% gain for STEPN (GMT), an 18.9% gain for Theta Fuel (TFUEL), and a 17.6% increase for Convex Finance (CVX).

The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.019 trillion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 41.6%.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.