The great crypto rally of late 2024 continued to barrel on over the weekend and well into Monday. With little to halt or even slow their trajectory, coins and tokens continued to vault well higher in value as the work week began.
Over that stretch of time, it almost seemed as if any crypto play was a winner. Meme tokens were particularly sprightly, with Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) racing nearly 48% ahead from market close Friday to late afternoon Monday and Pepe (CRYPTO: PEPE) adding 23%. Some of the more "serious" cryptos were also on a serious run; Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) was enjoying an almost 40% pop while Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) was up by almost 11%.
The leader surges
Predictably, the foundation of this rally is the follow-the-leader nature of the cryptosphere. And that leader is really on a tear -- I'm talking of course about Bitcoin.
This past weekend was the first one after Election Day, and the crypto market was still expressing satisfaction with the surprising (and convincing) win of Donald Trump. Weekends are when people not directly involved in the finance or crypto industry tend to have more time for activities like securities trading. Since coins and tokens trade 24/7 as opposed to traditional investments, many crypto bulls took that stretch of time to buy.
Very often these folks, especially if they're relatively new to cryptocurrencies or at least somewhat cautious, tend to reach for the most popular and familiar asset in the group -- Bitcoin. So looking back, it's little wonder that Bitcoin's value crossed the $80,000 barrier for the first time on Sunday, and has kept a heavy foot on the gas pedal since then. As I write this, it's trading north of $87,000.
On the subject of smashing barriers, Solana might not have been the strongest gainer but that's par for the course given its immense market cap. The rally has pushed the high-profile utility coin above $100 billion, making it the fourth largest crypto in market cap terms. For many, Solana is the poster child for utility cryptocurrencies given its blockchain's high degree of usefulness, and is thus something of a bellwether for altcoins generally.
As for meme coins, much of their outsize recent gains can be atrributed to the high visibility of Elon Musk in the Trump campaign (and, possibly, his incoming administration). Musk continues to be a colorful and energetic proponent of the No. 1 token in that segment, Dogecoin. Since Shiba Inu was "inspired" by the creation of Dogecoin, investors have pushed it near the front of the rally, too.
The heat is on
Especially when looking at the Sunday-to-Monday arc of Bitcoin, this rally is feeling overheated.
As I've opined before, there have only been vague pronouncements from Trump and his circle regarding their policies on cryptocurrencies. While these are sure to be beneficial for these digital assets, it's too soon to gauge how and when given the lack of specifics. That's why I'd continue to advocate for caution with cryptos just now; it's easy to get carried away on that wave of exuberance.
Should you invest $1,000 in Shiba Inu right now?
Before you buy stock in Shiba Inu, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Shiba Inu wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $904,692!*
Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.
*Stock Advisor returns as of November 11, 2024
Eric Volkman has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Cardano, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
