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Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP) Prices Continue to Plunge

Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP) Prices Continue to Plunge

Nick Cawley, Senior Strategist

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Cryptocurrency Prices, News and Technical Analysis

  • Cryptocurrency prices down 20%+ in 24-hours, market capitalization back to $200 billion.
  • Support levels are becoming increasingly difficult to identify.

Cryptocurrency Prices Slump 20%+ in 24-Hours

Wednesday’s crypto-market sell-off has intensified today with most of the major tokens registering 20%+ losses in the last 24 hours. As we mentioned yesterday when the move first started, there still seems to be no specific reason for the sell-off and its intensity, leading to increased speculation that market liquidity is not as robust as was first thought. Buyers it seems also disappear quickly when bearish sentiment prevails. Volume has picked to around $20 billion today but this is still way below the $50-$70 billion days seen when the market rallied at the end of 2017- start of 2018.

Support Levels Broken With Ease

The latest slump has seen old support levels taken out, leaving gaps on the charts. As we discussed yesterday at our Weekly Cryptocurrency Webinar – Bitcoin, Ether, Ripple – Sharp Sell-Off Wrecks Sentiment – the velocity of the rallies that took place 9-10 months ago have left huge gaps on the charts, making indentifying support levels difficult. We now have to look back to the start of the rallies to find levels of interest which means short-term support levels are as follows:

Bitcoin (BTC) -- $5,622 (Mid - November, 2017)

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) -- $340 area (Mid - October 9, 2017)

Ethereum (ETH) -- $200 (Mid – September, 2017)

Ripple (XRP) -- $0.20 area (Mid - December, 2017)

Litecoin (LTC) -- $40 area (Late - August, 2017)

Bitcoin’s Dominance Remains Despite Market Sell-off

Bitcoin’s market dominance continues to nudge back higher and is currently around 54.8% as the altcoin market takes a bigger hit. Bitcoin remains the pre-eminent cryptocurrency and this maturity is helping to cushion BTC against the worst of the market falls. Looking at the IG Client Sentiment Indicator shows us the positioning of retail in various cryptocurrencies and how this can be used as an overall gauge of the market.

Bitcoin – Traders are 74.2% net-long.

Ethereum – Traders are 92.8% net-long.

Ripple – Traders are 95.5% net-long.

Litecoin – Traders are 91.1% net-long.

Bitcoin Cash – Traders are 88.9% net-long.

The above numbers show that retail are positioned one-way, long, although these positions have been more extreme. The fear is that if investors decide to throw in the towel and sell, the ‘exit door’ may not be big enough for them all to leave when they want. Bitcoin investors may be more insulated against heavy falls as its retail positioning is not as extreme as other tokens, due to its maturity and trading history.

Bitcoin (BTC) Daily Price Chart (November, 2017 – September 6, 2018)

We look at Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, at our Weekly Cryptocurrency Webinar every Wednesday.

Cryptocurrency Trader Resources

If you are interested in trading Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin or Ripple we can help you begin your journey with our Introduction to Bitcoin Trading Guide.

What’s your opinion on the latest market crash? Share your thoughts and ideas with us using the comments section at the end of the article or you can contact me on Twitter @nickcawley1 or via email at nicholas.cawley@ig.com.

--- Written by Nick Cawley, Analyst.

DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.

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