Throughout the week, the cryptocurrency markets have seen increased levels of volatility that has caused many altcoins to near their 2018 lows. This volatility first began earlier this week when Bitcoin dropped from $3,600 to lows of $3,400 before bouncing to its current price levels.

Today, most major altcoins have recovered from their recent losses, with Ripple and Bitcoin Cash both leading today’s market surge.

Analyst Claims Bitcoin Must Maintain Above $3,350 to Surge Higher

At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading up just under 1% at its current price of $3,480. BTC is up from its weekly lows of $3,400, but it has yet to break back above $3,500, which previously acted as support for the cryptocurrency.

DonAlt, a popular cryptocurrency trader on Twitter, recently gave an update on Bitcoin’s current price action, noting that it is presently caught in a trading range between approximately $3,350 and $3,800.

“$BTC daily upd.: Sitting in the last buy zone b4 new lows. Cut some of my buys due to the breach of the top of the zone. Looking to re-add them if it is reclaimed. If green fails I expect a quick move into the 2k's. If it holds 4k is on the cards,” he said while referencing a chart showing the aforementioned trading range.

Because BTC has failed to break above $3,500, it is likely that this is the first resistance level it faces before moving up towards the top of the trading range DonAlt was referring to. If BTC fails to break above $3,500, it will likely find some support around $3,200, as this is where its 2018 low is currently set at.

Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Lead Today’s Market Surge

Although Bitcoin is currently trading sideways, multiple altcoins have been able to recover some of their recent losses.

At the time of writing, Ripple (XRP) is currently trading up just under 10% at its current price of $0.3185. XRP appears to have established the $0.28 region as a level of support, as it held firmly above this price before surging today.

Mati Greenspan, the senior market analyst at eToro, said in a recent tweet that XRP led today’s market surge, as it began moving approximately five minutes before other altcoins began climbing.

“Indeed, it does appear that $XRP is leading the current rally. Check the green line in this chart, started to surge about 5 minutes before the rest of the pack,” Greenspan said.

Hsaka, another popular cryptocurrency analyst, also spoke about XRP’s price surge earlier today, tweeting that XRP recovered the losses it incurred over the past 18 days.

“$XRP 18 days of a slow grind down completely undone in one hour,” he noted.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is the second best performing major cryptocurrency, as it has climbed approximately 6% today to its current price of $118.1. BCH is up from its weekly lows of $108, but is still down significantly from its weekly highs of over $130.

All the cryptocurrencies mentioned in this article are available to trade on covesting.io