Markets Update: The New Year's Cryptocurrency Rollercoaster

It’s been quite a rollercoaster in the cryptocurrency markets the past few days. Bitcoin had a significant bull run during the first two days of the year followed by a major downturn after nearly reaching its all-time high. During this turbulent price volatility all cryptocurrency market capitalizations have been affected.

Also read: Why Jim Harper is Dead Wrong On Bitcoin

The Ups and Downs of 2017’s Crypto-Markets

Bitcoin exchanges worldwide during the first week of 2017 have seen significant volumes. Currently at press time the number one digital asset, bitcoin, is trading at daily volumes of $300-400 million USD during the first week of January. Bitcoin’s fiat price value came dollars away from reaching its all-time high, reached in 2013, touching the $1145 range across global exchanges.

After roughly eight hours following the price rise, bitcoin’s value fell by 15-20%. Bitcoin’s price has reached lows of $875 over the course of January 5-6. Speculators believe the decline is due to fears stemming from China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) warning about bitcoin price volatility. PBOC’s warning is very reminiscent to similar scares in 2013, which also shook up the price.

Altcoins Follow Bitcoin’s Ups and Downs

The top ten altcoins have had an interesting relationship with bitcoin’s rise and fall by following similar patterns. Top ten cryptocurrencies had significant upward percentages when bitcoin reached its highest point. This includes notable increases from Monero, Dash, Ethereum, and Ripple. However, when bitcoin’s price took a dive, the top tokens followed suit.

The second most valuable crypto-asset Ethereum picked up some steam during bitcoin’s bull run, but is currently down -1.62% with a market capitalization of $855M. Ether tokens reached a high of $10.90 per ETH but has since fallen to $9.70 per coin.

Ripple’s price has seen a slight increase and has not followed suit with bitcoin’s dip. The price of the #3 cryptocurrency, Ripple XRP, is a touch more than half a penny with a market capitalization of $229M at the time of writing.

The current fourth top spot is commanded by Litecoin at the moment with a price of $3.91 at press time. Litecoin came close to touching the five dollar range on January 1-2 but has since corrected. LTC is down -12.64% and is back to its original position before the 2017 big price push.

Monero is currently the fifth highest market capitalization amongst its peers with its fiat value at roughly $13.50 per XMR. The privacy-centric cryptocurrency has been widely viewed as the top performing digital asset of 2016. On the first two days of January in a close relationship with bitcoin’s price rise Monero reached a high of $17 per XMR.

Notable Mentions from the Top Cryptocurrency Positions

Other altcoins within the top ten have also seen a significant uptrend and downturn this week. Ethereum Classic has been performing quite well even before the bitcoin bull run showing the cryptocurrency may be breathing new life. Dash has had an exceptional run over the past six days reaching a high of $15.70 but has followed the same path as the rest of the top altcoins.

At the present time, Ethereum Classic is number six, Dash holds the seventh position, Augur is number eight, Maidsafecoin nine, and Steem barely holds onto the tenth position. Another honorable mention not in the top ten is Quark which has increased by over 100% over the past 48 hours.

It’s safe to say that many altcoin values are still very much correlated with bitcoin’s price movements. Cryptocurrency markets currently show a lot of instability, and this will likely continue over the next few days until a firmer price position is found within the bitcoin market.

Disclaimer: The above references is an opinion and is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.

Do you hold or trade the cryptocurrencies on this list? Let’s hear about your experiences in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock, Coinmarketcap.com, and Pixabay.

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