Thursday, March 7 – Major cryptocurrency prices traded sideways on the day struggling to consolidate gains above key resistance levels and sliding down to record moderate losses.

The total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency markets stood at USD 133.4 billion at 9 PM EST, according to Coinmarketcap data, virtually unchanged from the level 24 hours prior.

Total market capitalization 1-day chart. Source: Coinmarketcap

A look at the crypto market visualization by Coin360 reveals that major cryptocurrencies were all trading in the red, with the notable exception of Binance Coin (BNB), the token issued by the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, that has witnessed a remarkable surge in the past few weeks.

Source: Coin360

BITCOIN (BTC) PRICE UPDATE

Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, traded in a narrow range going up to an intra-day high of $3,939 before correcting to $3,894. Ever since the sharp correction witnessed on February 25, BTC has been range bound and has exhibited unusually low volatility. Bitcoin still comprises 51% of the entire crypto market and is fittingly considered the bellwether for the market. If the low volatility persists it could be a harbinger for a dramatic move in either direction.

Bitcoin 1-day price chart. Source: Coinmarketcap

ALTCOINS PRICE UPDATE

Like bitcoin, Ether (ETH) has also failed to break through the strong resistance at $140. ETH suffered a much sharper correction today compared to BTC and was trading at $136.5, down 1.3% over the prior 24 hours, at the time of writing.

Ethereum 7-day price chart. Source: Coinmarketcap

Ripple (XRP) suffered a similar fate as ETH and was trading at $0.31, down over 1% from the previous day. Earlier in the week, XRP was added to Huobi OTC, the peer-to-peer trading platform of Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global. This followed the listing by Coinbase of XRP on its platform. However, in spite of the spate of positive news, XRP has remained in a narrow range much like its bigger peers BTC and ETH.

Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: Coinmarketcap

The cryptocurrency which continues to buck the trend of the overall market is Binance Coin (BNB). After notching up stellar gains of close to 40% in the previous week the exchange token recorded another day of positive price action. BNB prices were up 1.6% and trading at $15.08.

Finally, the obscure token of the Dubai-based ABBC Foundation, ABBC Coin took its investors on a roller-coaster ride. The price of token initially rallied by over 20% reaching an all-time high of $0.62 – a gain of over 500% in just 10 days. Eventually, the rally seemed to run out of steam and the price began correcting just as sharply. At the time of going to press, ABBC Coin was trading at $0.41, down 35% from the peak reached just hours ago. The price action is highly suspicious and has all the hallmarks of a ‘pump-and-dump’ scheme for which the crypto markets are notorious.

ABBC Coin 1-day price chart. Source: Coinmarketcap