Bitcoin price gains 40% in a day as altcoins, Cardano and Dogecoin join $42K BTC

It’s a sea of green for Bitcoin and altcoins on Thursday as a tsunami of optimism erases the previous crypto bloodbath.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit $42,000 on May 20 as altcoins joined the largest cryptocurrency in its record-breaking comeback.

BTC price hits February highs

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD spiking to all-time highs from February on Thursday.

At the time of writing, volatility was back as bulls sought to tackle what was once formidable resistance. 

As Cointelegraph reported, the past 24 hours have been a test like no other for Bitcoin as selling pressure drove it to $30,000, only to evaporate and allow a run to $40,000 — all within around five hours.

On Thursday, higher levels remained, with brief spikes hinting at major buy-ins frontrunning a concerted push higher.

Versus the local lows, BTC/USD gained an unparalleled 40% in less than 24 hours. 

“The most spectacular rallies happen when emotions within the market at their most extreme,” popular Twitter trader Rekt Capital said as part of multiple posts as the market rose.

Rekt Capital noted that the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, a key indicator of sentiment, was practically repeating behavior from March 2020, when cryptocurrencies broadly crashed. 

As such, others were beginning to reveal long positions on the day in a further signal of belief that the worst of the dip was over.

#BTC is currently inside the $38000-$44000 range

Two things to watch out for in the short-term:

• Can ~$38000 hold as support during a retest attempt?

• Will ~$44000 turn into a resistance once tested?$BTC #Bitcoin https://t.co/cfdEZ2BVKt pic.twitter.com/Ha6u8EEHV2

— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) May 20, 2021

Cardano leads major altcoin rally

On altcoins, opportune moments for gains were also flowing in, with Cardano (ADA) up over 70% and Dogecoin (DOGE) up 55%.

The latter was flying high once again thanks to Twitter activity from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who on Thursday hinted at a plan to drive DOGE/USD to $1.

How much is that Doge in the window? pic.twitter.com/bxTkWOr50V

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2021

The top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap saw 40% daily returns or more as Bitcoin led battered tokens back to where they were just days before.

Ether (ETH) was up 40% at the time of writing, having previously briefly dipped below $2,000.