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This Week’s Summary

The Crypto Market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $197 billion

Bitcoin price spends most of the week under the $7,000 mark only to recover on the weekend

Ethereum is still desperately waiting for the bulls just above the $130 barrier

Ripple starts the year hoping to go over the $0.20 threshold before January ends

International turmoil between the United States and Iran impacts the crypto market, as well

Crypto Trends 30th of December 2019 to 6th of January 2020: PERFORMANCE & ANALYSIS

The first week of 2020 sees the crypto market struggle with the same issues as it did before the last year came to an end. It is a new decade towards which Bitcoin and the other altcoins look optimistically ahead even if intense volatility strongly defines it for now.

As soon as the New Year kicked through the door, Bitcoin dropped to $6,850. The early forecast for January already seemed demoralizing. However, out of the blue, BTC regained almost $500 to go above the $7,000 barrier again. Some believe that a mild bullish surge was enough to bolster Bitcoin’s value. Others think that the best-known crypto in the world changed its price as a reaction to an unexpected event in international politics.

On Friday, January 3rd, the US President Donald Trump ordered an attack on Baghdad’s airport. During the airstrike, the commander of Iran’s Quds Forces, General Qasem Soleimani, was killed. This event sparked a broad range of theories regarding the future of international politics and global economy. The media was overwhelmed with various scenarios that ran from apocalyptic world wars to zero repercussions.

The bullet (drone) that hit the blue sky of Iraq took the financial markets by surprise, and the crypto industry was not an exception. Most cryptocurrencies started the year wobbling before quickly trading into the green. Bitcoin set the trend, and it ends the week at $7,429 at the time of this writing.

Elsewhere, Ethereum went through a statewide hardfork named Muir Glacier, and is eagerly waiting for the bulls to get behind it and push it back over the $150 barrier. For now, it ends the current week at only $133.30.

XRP started 2020 at a disappointing low of $0.1815. For now, investors are staying on the sidelines, and few are optimistic enough to see Ripple’s coin go over $0.20 by the end of January. It will take a serious bullish charge to get its value past that barrier. Now, it ends the week at a disappointing $0.1939.

What’s in the News?

Cryptocurrency expert Tyler Winklevoss said that in the new decade, Crypto sill become just as important as email is today

The chief of the German Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann does not see Facebook’s Libra and the Digital Euro as possible releases in the next decade

The U.S. has indicted a dark web trafficker who sold drugs for Bitcoin

According to this report, South Korea has decided against taxing cryptocurrency profits for the time being

Telegram is a bit in hot water for refusing to share its financial records with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Next Week’s Market Forecast

In the upcoming week, Bitcoin should oscillate above the $7,200 level of support with a clear intent of reaching the next resistance at $7,700. It will require a steady and well-defined bullish attack to make this happen. On the other hand, the bears are hoping for another international happening that would have the opposite effect of this week’s political event.

Ethereum is enjoying a sudden rejuvenation of popularity. Its price benefits from a minor 3% increase, and many investors hope that the bulls will take it above the $135 mark. The next level of resistance would wait for them at $146, while the bears might try to bring it down to the first line of support at $128.

All in all, the crypto market is staring optimistically into the horizon of its second decade of existence. The industry may be gaining more credibility, but its takeover of traditional financial institutions is still far from being a certainty. For now, investors and holders can only hope that their digital assets will not suffer too much from the intense volatility and concern that defined the past ten years.

Featured image courtesy of Dreamstime. Source: Crypto Adventure.