Cryptocurrency markets have recovered well from last week's broad sell-off and have now been pushing higher for three consecutive days.
This has taken the value of the entire market higher by an impressive 25% or US$69 billion since the early hours of Monday morning to US$344.5 billion according to Coin Market Cap.
While the bitcoin (BTC) price will take the headlines with its strong rebound, the gains have been even greater among the altcoins.
The Cardano (ADA) price has been a standout and is up a further 4% over the last 24 hours to 20.14 U.S. cents. This means ADA has risen almost 58% from the low of 12.75 U.S. cents it made on Monday. Cardano now has a market capitalisation of over US$5.2 billion.
The Stellar Lumens (XLM) price has also been a big mover. The XLM price is up 9% during the last 24 hours to 26.9 U.S. cents. Like Cardano, Stellar has climbed significantly over the last couple of days. It was as low as 15.9 U.S. cents early on Monday morning, which means it has now rebounded over 69% since hitting that low.
It has been a similar story for the Ripple (XRP) price. Although it is down 3% over the last 24 hours to 70.25 U.S. cents, it is up 28% from its low on Monday.
And finally, the "Chinese bitcoin" NEO (NEO) has been another strong performer over the last couple of days. It is up 4% since this time yesterday to US$76.14 per token, meaning it is now up 54% from its low of US$49.40 on Monday.
Why are the altcoins on fire?
The altcoins were given a boost this week when a note out of Fundstrat Global Advisors told clients that the bear market for altcoins is over.
According to Bloomberg, Fundstrat's Tom Lee believes the likelihood that the current drop has ended is high.
Though, it is worth pointing out that he believes that altcoins will remain in purgatory for a period of time before entering a bull market in the summer. His advice is to stick with bitcoin until then.
