With bitcoin poised to touch $5,000, the next couple of days will be critical for cryptocurrencies​. Their fortunes have mostly been on an upswing this year. It remains to be seen whether bitcoin breaching a psychological price barrier will make a difference to their fortunes. Meanwhile, here is a roundup of select cryptocurrency price action today.

Bitcoin

The price of bitcoin has surged by approximately 367% this year. Within the third quarter alone, it went up by 74%. However, the world's most popular cryptocurrency is still flirting with a price target of $5,000 after reaching $4,900 yesterday. The currency showed marginal improvement of approximately 1% or $56 in its value today.

An announcement relating to the SegWit2x hard fork could play a critical role in bitcoin's price in the coming weeks, according to investor and analyst Tuur Demeester. He said opposition to the hard fork by investors and businesses could drive bitcoin's price up in the short term because it would mean that the cryptocurrency remains the majority chain.

Ethereum

Ethereum's price began rising in March this year. After touching a high of $391 on Sept. 2, it has mostly remained around $300 in 2017. Today was not much different. The currency started the day at $299.98 and is currently trading at $301.51. The release of Byzantium, which is part of the Metropolis hard fork, should result in some price action for the currency. As detailed in an earlier post, Byzantium could widen blockchain's​ utility by making it possible for Wall Street to ensure client and transaction confidentiality.

Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin cash has been an exception to the cryptocurrency trend of rising prices. The cryptocurrency has lost more than half its value since the first week of September and is currently trading at $314.64, a drop of 4.3% from the day's start. According to a post on Cointelegraph, the currency is devoid of any buyers. "Though the digital currency has recovered above $300 levels, it continues to make lower lows and lower highs, which suggests that a bottom is still not in place," the publication writes.

With a market cap of $10 billion, Ripple is among the strongest gainers this year. As of this writing, the currency was trading at $0.26, an increase of 4.82% from the day's start. The currency's number of transactions per day has declined since the start of this year. According to Cointelegraph, investors bullish on the currency may face stiff resistance at the $0.28 price point. Traders should expect some volatility in the price action between Oct. 16 and Oct. 18, when the XRP conference is held in Toronto.

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