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Cryptocurrency Crash Continues as Sellers Dominate

Cryptocurrency Crash Continues as Sellers Dominate

Nick Cawley, Senior Strategist

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Cryptocurrency News and Talking Points

- Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) all register double-digit losses as Asian sellers hit the market.

- Support levels fail to hold indicating lower prices lie ahead.

Cryptocurrency Market a Sea of Red

The digital coin bloodbath continued overnight with sellers completely dominating price action, sending the whole cryptocurrency market lower, with 24-hour losses hitting 30% in some cases. The latest sell-off has knocked around $100 billion off the market capitalization which currently stands at $505 billion, down from a peak of $830 billion on January 8. The latest capitulation follows days of selling, prompted by fears of a South Korean trading ban and rhetoric from Chinese officials suggesting a further crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Cryptocurrency Market Capitalization January 17, 2018

DailyFX analyst Chris Vecchio’s latest look at Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency space included a section on the Stages of a Classic Bubble with the graph showing the market firmly camped in the ‘fear’ stage.

Bitcoin (BTC) Technical Support Fails to Hold

Bitcoin support levels have been and gone in short order lately with the chart now showing the Fibonacci 78.6% level of the November 12 – December 17 rally at $8523 as the next downside support. The latest sell-off has also seen the $10,600 double lows of December 5 and December 22 taken out, leaving the market vulnerable to the downside.

Bitcoin (BTC) Daily Price Chart (August 28, 2017 – January 17, 2018)

Ripple (XRP) Downtrend Remains Intact

Altcoin Ripple’s recent surge saw the coin jump from $0.20 to $3.25 in less than a month, making it the second-most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap. The real-time settlement and exchange protocol soared on the back of news that banks were adopting the digital currency, a claim subsequently countered by a New York Times journalist. A look at the chart below shows the recent downtrend firmly in place although yesterday’s low bounced off the 78.6% Fibonacci support level, suggesting a near-term bottom may be in place.

Ripple (XRP) Daily Price Chart (November 20, 2017 – January 17, 2018)

Top 8 Cryptocurrencies by Market Capitalization – January 17, 2018

Cryptocurrency Trader Resources – Free Practice Trading Accounts, Guides, Sentiment Indicators and Webinars

If you are interested in trading Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple or Litecoin, we check out our Introduction to Bitcoin Trading Guide.

--- Written by Nick Cawley, Analyst.

To contact Nick, email him at nicholas.cawley@ig.com

Follow Nick on Twitter @nickcawley1

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

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