Markets Update: Most Cryptos Consolidating

The cryptocurrency meta-trend has seen most leading markets continue to grind sideways at key support zones, though there has been a slight bounce in the last few hours. Among the weakest performing major markets in recent days are tron (TRX), which has broken a critical ascending trendline following the bittorrent token (BTT) airdrop, and nem (XEM) which has experienced heavy selling pressure following reports that the NEM Foundation is attempting to raise $7.5 million to stay operational.

Also Read: Crypto Startups Push Swiss VC Investments to a Record $1.25B

BCH Gains 5% in 4 Hours, Reclaims Top 5 Ranking by Market Cap

Bitcoin cash (BCH) produced a significant pop over the last several hours, gaining more than 5% in four hours. The move comes following a full retrace of the gains posted during Jan. 30, with BCH bouncing off support at $110 to currently trade for approximately $115.

When measured against BTC, the recent bounce saw BCH gain approximately 3%, with BCH trading for 0.0335 BTC as of this writing.

BCH currently has a market cap of $2.06 billion, ranking bitcoin cash as the fifth largest crypto asset market.

BTC Consolidates Near $3,500 Area

BTC has continued to consolidate sideways with low volatility, with bitcoin core only gaining 1% while other markets popped over the last several hours.

Bitcoin core currently has a market capitalization of more than $60.81 billion, with BTC trading for approximately $3,400 on Bitstamp, and roughly $3,500 on Bitfinex.

XRP Capitalization Retains Slight Lead Over ETH

XRP has slightly extended its lead over ETH as the largest altcoin by capitalization, with ripple market dominance gaining more than half a percent from 10.57% to 11.15% over the last two days.

XRP currently has a market cap of $12.68 billion, with XRP trading for more than $0.31 each as of this writing. Ripple reclaimed approximately 2.5% against BTC today, with XRP currently trading for 0.000089 BTC.

Ethereum (ETH) dominance gained roughly 0.10% over the last two days, with ETH currently posting a dominance of 9.87% and a market cap of $11.24 billion.

Ethereum gained nearly 3.5% over the dollar today, bouncing off $106 to currently trade for nearly $110. When measured against BTC, ETH gained approximately 1.75% today to trade for 0.031 BTC as of this writing.

TRX Retraces Following Bittorrent Token Airdrop

Tron was among the most traded crypto assets of January, gaining more than 50% across the first four weeks of the month.

Since Jan. 28, TRX has lost approximately 13.5% against the dollar, with today’s market action appearing to confirm a break below the ascending trendline that has guided price action since mid-December. The sell-off coincided with the completion of the bittorrent token (BTT) airdrop. TRX is currently trading for roughly $0.026.

When measured against BTC, TRX has lost nearly 11% since Jan. 28 to currently trade for roughly 0.0000075 BTC.

XEM Plummets Amid Nem ‘Budget Decisions’

Nem has experienced a significant sell-off following an announcement from the NEM Foundation that it is “facing challenging budget decisions” and must “act quickly” in order to “ensure the longevity of the NEM Foundation ecosystem and development.” Reports surfaced quickly following the announcement claiming that the NEM Foundation is considering seeking to raise $7.5 million from the NEM community through the sale of 160 million tokens.

The announcement triggered a nearly 14.5% drop in the price of XEM yesterday, cementing a 63% slide in the crypto asset’s value since mid-November. XEM is currently trading for roughly $0.042.

XEM also fell 14% against BTC yesterday, with the markets having since recovered roughly 2.50% to currently trade for nearly 0.000012 BTC.

The heavy selling pressure has seen XEM rank as the 25th worst-performing crypto market of the last seven days, losing 25.5% against the dollar.

Holochain Breaks into Top 30 by Market Cap

Holochain (HOT) is among the strongest performing of the top-ranked cryptocurrencies by market cap during January so far, gaining approximately 240% since the start of the year from 11 satoshis to currently trade for approximately 37 sats.

When calculated against the dollar, HOT has gained roughly 200% since the start of the year, rallying from $0.00043 to roughly $0.0013 since Jan. 1. The rally has seen holochain grow from the 62nd largest crypto asset as of the end of December 2018 to rank 30th by market cap today.

Do you think 2019 will see the cryptocurrency markets produce lower lows than 2018? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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