Markets Update: Crypto Traders Enter the New Year With Uncertainty

On the first day of 2019, cryptocurrency prices have been steadily moving sideways in a consolidated pattern after taking some slight losses on New Year’s Eve. At the moment, the entire digital asset economy is worth about $126 billion and global trade volume has been thinning out over the last 48 hours.

Also Read: Embracing Utility in 2019: Unreliable Crypto Networks Will Lose to Hyperbitcoinization

2019’s Top Crypto Market Valuations

2018 is over and many cryptocurrency enthusiasts are hoping the bearish sentiment that lasted all year long is left behind as well. Trade volume has been light over the last two days, which is likely due to traders celebrating the holidays. It’s likely that heavier digital asset trading will resume at some point today and into the new year. At the moment, global trade volume for all 2000+ assets this Tuesday is around $12.8 billion. Bitcoin core (BTC) is trading for $3,743 and is down 1.5% on Jan.1. The last seven days show BTC is also down a small percentage and trade volume is around $4.2 billion.

The second largest market capitalization held by ripple (XRP) is down 1% today and 5.9% for the week. One XRP is trading for $0.35 and ripple’s overall market valuation is $14.4 billion. Ethereum (ETH) had a decent runup last week as the cryptocurrency is still up 5% over the last seven days but is down 1.6% today. One ETH is trading for $135 and the total market capitalization is awfully close to ripple’s at $14 billion. The cryptocurrency eos (EOS) is having a better day than most. Even though the currency is down 0.63% today, it is up 2.7% for the week. At the time of publication, a single eos is swapping for $2.58 per coin.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Market Action

Bitcoin cash (BCH) markets are seeing some improvement on the first day of the year, but prices are down 0.64% over the last 24 hours. BCH is also still down over 4% for the week and trade volume is much lower than last week’s data with only $250 million today. One BCH is trading for $156 at the time of publication. The top five exchanges swapping the most BCH this Tuesday include Lbank, Binance, Huobi, Hitbtc, and Coinbase. A list of currency pair statistics shows that USDT is dominating BCH trades by 42.4% today. This is followed by BTC (19.6%), ETH (18%), USD (9.8%), and JPY (4.5%). The EUR and KRW both have about 1-3% of daily BCH trades today as well. Bitcoin cash is the seventh most traded currency just below litecoin (LTC) and above zcash (ZEC).

BCH/USD Technical Indicators

Looking at the BCH/USD daily and 4-hour charts on Bitstamp shows there have been some meaningful trend changes. As explained in our last markets update, the two long-term and short-term Simple Moving Averages (SMA 200,100) were about to cross hairs. Today the 100 SMA has climbed above the long-term 200 SMA indicating some possible upswings ahead.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the BCH/USD 4-H chart shows uncertainty at -46 while the Stochastic and MACd indicators show similar findings. Looking at order books ahead, we can see that bulls will meet resistance at the current vantage point and up until $190-225 per coin. On the back side, foundations have grown stronger and bears will see a few pit stops between $155-135 per coin.

The Hope for 2019 Crypto Market Trend Reversal

Overall, most traders know that the holiday lull may pick up soon as far as volume, but the bearish trends may not be over. Unfortunately, just like the myriad of nonsensical price predictions throughout 2018, there has been a ton of people who think they’ve called “the bottom.” Traditionally, cryptocurrency markets in January don’t fare so well because of people selling for tax reasons and settling end of the year purchases. However, usually after a long-winded year of bearish sentiment sometimes certain markets reverse. On New Year’s Eve John Bollinger, the esteemed inventor of statistical chart characterization tool Bollinger Bands, reminded traders and his Twitter followers of this example.

“Happy New Year,” Bollinger said. “Please keep in mind that there is a long tradition of what did poorly last year, doing well the next — Good trading.”

Where do you see the price of BCH, BTC and other coins heading from here? Let us know in the comments below.

Disclaimer: Price articles and markets updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not to be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the “money.”

Images via Shutterstock, Trading View, Coinlib.io, Bitstamp, and Satoshi Pulse.

Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section.