Markets Update: Bears Claw Cryptocurrency Prices Down to New Lows

Cryptocurrency markets are suffering from new lows on the first of February as nearly every digital asset is down 3-20 percent. Since the last week of December 2017, bitcoin core (BTC/USD) markets are seeing a continuous downward spiral not seen since 2014. At the moment BTC is desperately trying to climb above the $9K region at $8,950 but buying pressure is showing signs of some flat trade volume across the boards.

Also Read: U.S. Rating Agency to Issue Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Grades

BTC /USD Markets See the Most Continuous Price Dumps Since 2014

Last week digital assets were at a crossroads and many bitcoin traders expected either one of two scenarios — either the dumps were over, or markets would continue to slide in value. Trade volume has been weaker this week as global markets are only swapping $8-10Bn during 24-hour trading session intervals.

The top five exchanges trading the most BTC include Okex, Bitfinex, Binance, Bitflyer, and Upbit. BTC trading with the USD has dropped significantly since last week as the Japanese yen now commands the top currency pair position. The yen leads by 47.8 percent which is followed by the USD (29%), tether (USDT 9%), euro (7%) and the Korean won (2.7%). The South Korean won’s volume with BTC has dropped considerably over the past two weeks. The most-traded digital asset right now according to Shapeshift is ethereum (ETH).

Technical Indicators

BTC/USD technical indicators show the decentralized digital asset has erased most of its gains over the sixty-day average. Cryptocurrencies are suffering the most continuous losses since 2014, and traders are uncertain about the current ‘true market value.’ The two Simple Moving Averages both short-term (100 SMA) and long-term (200 SMA) have converged once again on January 30. The 200 SMA is well above the short-term 100 trendline which indicates bears will relentlessly keep pushing the value towards the downside.

At the moment RSI and Stochastic have room to move northbound, and a spike could be in the cards today. Bollinger bands are incredibly tight which indicates an elastic-like rebound could also play out over the next 48-hours. However, traders believe it will likely be a bull trap with the current market sentiment and predictions of hitting the lower $8K regions ($8,200-8,400). Order books show some crucial foundations between $8,900 to $8,200 if things continue to fall to the back side. On the flip side, the upward path has less resistance all the way back to the $10K region.

Cryptocurrency Markets, In General, See Major Losses Except for Ethereum

Cryptocurrency markets, in general, are all in red minus a few digital assets. Ethereum’s value has been the strongest over the past two weeks even quietly touching an all-time high. At the moment the second highest capitalization held by ethereum shows markets are down 4.9 percent as one ETH has an average price of $1,050. The second highest valued cap still belongs to ripple (XRP) but markets are down 12.4 percent, and XRP is $0.98 per coin. Bitcoin cash (BCH) is following the downward trend as well as BCH markets are down 13.2 percent with an average of $1,285 per token. Lastly, Cardano ADA is down significantly, with prices seeing a percentage loss of around 16 percent. Cardanos are worth 0.42 per ADA at the time of publication.

Large Swathes of U.S. Investors Move to Equities Markets for Tax Cuts, While Crypto-Traders Try to Predict the Next Big Price Move

Market sentiment across the boards is extremely bearish right now, and many traders expected the lowerbound $8K zone to happen. Many believe most cryptocurrencies are in deep search of their ‘fair market’ values after rising so fast two months ago. Alongside this USD trade volume commanded quite a bit of trading but since the recent U.S. tax cuts for equities markets, new money has likely jumped to those investment vehicles. With the special incentives for tax cuts, U.S. equities markets have been on fire since the announcement this past week. Further, there’s been nothing but negative news tied to cryptos, and uplifting news doesn’t seem to be in the pipeline right now. For now, some speculators believe prices could still drop to $5-7K per BTC while others think there will likely be a big rebound either at our current vantage point or around $8,200-8,400 if prices sink that low.

Where do you see the price of BTC and other digital assets heading from here? Do you think cryptocurrencies will see more gains? 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, the film ‘The Revenant’, Bitstamp, Bitcoin Wisdom, AP, and Coinmarketcap.

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