Markets Update: Digital Asset Consolidation and Accumulation Continues

On Saturday September 29, cryptocurrency prices are meandering along after an interesting two weeks of ups and downs. Since last week’s crypto market dips, digital asset markets have been seemingly less volatile and many cryptocurrencies are following a tight wedge formation indicating a possible accumulation phase.

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The Cryptocurrency Economy Gains US$13 Billion This Week

The weekend is here and digital asset traders are trying to figure out what’s next in the land of crypto trading. There’s been some improvement since our last markets update four days ago as the entire crypto-economy at the time was valued at US$210 billion. Today, thanks to gains stemming from ethereum, ripple, and bitcoin cash, the overall market capitalization has gained over $13 billion as it currently rests at $223.7 billion. The top assets today with the most 24-hour trade volume include bitcoin core (BTC), tether (USDT), ethereum (ETH), ripple (XRP), eos (EOS), and bitcoin cash (BCH).

Bitcoin core (BTC) prices are hovering around $6,587 today, but markets are down 0.86 percent over the last 24-hours, and 1.5 percent for the week. BTC has an overall market valuation of around $113 billion and trade volume is meandering around $4.6 billion this weekend. Ethereum (ETH) is up 3.6 percent this Saturday and one ETH is trading for $232 per coin at press time. Ripple (XRP) markets have seen a 7.5 percent gain over the last 24-hours and 0.11 percent over the week. XRP is trading for $0.56 per coin and the market valuation for ripple today is $22.7 billion. Lastly, eos (EOS) has lost 0.96 percent today and 2.86 percent for the last seven days. One eos is swapping for $5.75 per token with a market capitalization of around $5.2 billion.

Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ) Market Action

Bitcoin cash (BCH) markets are continuing to do well this week as prices have gained 13 percent over the last seven days. However, BCH markets over the past 24 hours are down 0.18 percent leading to a price of around $542 per BCH. Currently, the market capitalization for bitcoin cash hovers around $9.42 billion and trade volume is about $639 million at the time of publication. The top five BCH swapping exchanges this weekend are Lbank, Hitbtc, Okex, Binance, and Coinex. The top currency pairs traded with bitcoin cash this weekend include USDT (39.9%), BTC (32.9%), ETH (13%), USD (7.5%), and KRW (2.8%).

BCH /USD Technical Indicators

Looking at the 4-hour trading view charts on both Bitfinex and Bitstamp shows BCH bulls may be showing a bit of exhaustion after the spike a few days ago. The Macd indicator (4-H) shows bulls have leveled some upper resistance as the price approached oversold territories yesterday. Both momentum oscillators on the 4-H BCH chart indicate some bullish charges continue as RSI (-58.4) and Stochastic (-22.4) show room for more improvement today.

The two simple-moving-averages (SMA) trendlines look as though a crossover trend could take place over the next 24 hours. However, the SMA 200 is still above the 100 SMA indicating the path towards the least resistance is still the downside. Order books towards the upside show heavy opposition from now up until $575; from there on, books show smoother seas. On the backside, if bears manage to claw price down some more we can see strong foundational support from the current vantage point and until $488. There also appears to be a massive wall holding from $485 through $470.

The Verdict: While Traders Wait for Higher Highs in 2018, Some Envision Momentum Building in the Fourth Quarter

There’s been a lot going on in the cryptocurrency world but this week’s headlines were definitely far less negative than last week’s crypto news. In the US a federal judge on Sep 26 declared that all cryptocurrencies should be viewed as commodities which in turn provides the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with the ability to charge digital currency projects with fraud. A few cryptocurrency analysts and industry executives are still positive we will see a bull run by the year’s end.

As 2018’s fourth quarter begins, Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK, says he sees momentum increasing again. “September is coming to an end and a very interesting quarter is about to start. Does it remind you of anything? Oh yes, it reminds me of last year’s bull rally,” wrote Aslam on Friday. The Think Markets researcher adds:

It appears to me that a similar momentum could be building up again — This must be music to those who are suffering from heavy losses in the crypto market.

Speaking in an interview at the Consensus: Singapore 2018 event, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO at Binance, also thinks the bull market will return and cautiously says cryptocurrency prices usually spike during fourth quarters. CZ emphasized during the interview:

I think that any minute the bull market will return, and historically, October to December are the good months — Before Christmas are usually the months when the markets go up very often, but I am not saying that it will this year, or that it will not.

Where do you see the price of Bitcoin Cash and other coins headed from here? Let us know in the comment section 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, and Satoshi Pulse.

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