Bitcoin, crypto stocks extend rally as equity market gains bullish momentum

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is jumping firmly over $23K in Tuesday afternoon trading, prompting bids in crypto-related stocks in the wake of a broader rally in the equity market.The world's most popular digital token is soaring 9% to $23.5K as of shortly before 4:00 p.m. ET, and ethereum (ETH-USD), is perking up 7% to $1.57K over the past 24 hours.Some are suggesting that the current crypto relief rally is just the beginning of a more extended upswing as traders open up their risk appetite, while others view the moves as a classic bull trap amid financial contagion effects in the cryptoverse. "For the rally to continue, bulls want to see the price hold above $21,500 which is in confluence with the 20-day moving average," GlobalBlock analyst Marcus Sotiriou wrote in a note. Since Bitcoin’s plummet from $45,000, this moving average has had 6 retests and 6 rejections, so the $21,500 is a must hold price level. If the price fails to successfully retest and flop the daily trend after a 60% drop in 4 months, this would be a telling sign of weakness in the market."Looking at overall crypto sentiment, the crypto fear and greed index got bumped up to "fear" from "extreme fear" for the first time in 73 days in a sign that speculators think either the bottom is in for bitcoin (BTC-USD) and other major cryptos, or lower highs are taking hold in a move that's considered a healthy downtrend by technical standards. Given cryptos' relatively strong rel...