Markets Update: Cryptos Look for Relief After South Korea FUD Causes Losses

There’s been a lot of uncertainty stemming from the mainstream media’s portrayal of South Korea’s digital asset economy, and rumors of a trading ‘ban’ has triggered some significant cryptocurrency market volatility. The price of bitcoin took a tumble downwards yesterday evening to the $12,775 USD zone around 11 pm EDT, after it came close to grasping the $14,900 range. At the moment, BTC/USD prices are trying to stay above the $14K area and attempting to recover from yesterday’s market wounds.

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After More South Korean Rumors, BTC Markets Head Southbound After Coming Close to $15K on January 10

Over the past week, cryptocurrency investors have been fixated on South Korea and the government’s recent exchange ‘crackdown.’ Much like China’s PBOC rumors affecting the price of BTC, reports about South Korea have been conflicting, and filled with fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). Right now there’s some hefty volume taking place worldwide as over $17.4Bn in BTC has been traded over the past 24 hours. The top five exchanges swapping the most bitcoin today are Bitfinex, Okex, Binance, GDAX, and Bitstamp.

The USD is the most traded currency paired with BTC capturing 39% of the global trade volume. The Japanese yen occupies the second position at 34% followed by tether (USDT 9.6%), the euro (4.7%), and the Korean won (4.4%). Right now according to Shapeshift and Changelly the most swapped altcoin with BTC is ethereum. As usual, during bearish cryptocurrency trading sessions tether USDT is capturing the fourth highest digital currency trade volume globally. At the moment the price per BTC/USD is roughly between $13,850 to $14,150 over the past two hours.

Technical Indicators

Looking at the charts, bitcoin core (BTC) markets are rebounding reasonably well after yesterday evening’s price dive. The two short and long-term Simple Moving Averages (SMA) crossed hairs on January 8. The 100 SMA is well below the longer-term 200 average which shows resistance may continue pushing towards the downside. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Stochastic oscillators show overbought conditions have passed and some relief is coming.

Order books show that in order for bulls to advance they will have to overcome a massive wall at $14,900 up to $15,150. They approached this resistance last night but failed to break the sell orders. If things were to continue to head southbound, order books show on the backside a solid foundation starting at $13,500 all the way to $13,100. If the lowest range of resistance is broken, a far deeper scalp could take place bringing BTC into the $12K zone. At the moment however, markets seem to be in recovery mode.

The Top Ten Digital Assets Dip Except for IOTA and Bitcoin Cash

The top ten cryptocurrencies are all in red except for bitcoin cash (BCH) and IOTA. The second largest market held by ethereum (ETH) is down 9.6 percent, and one ETH is trading at $1,210. Ripple (XRP) has taken a significant dive since its all-time high at $3.40 as the currency is now worth $2 at press time. The price of XRP kicked up a notch today as Ripple Labs announced a partnership with Moneygram on January 11.

Bitcoin cash markets are holding firm as BCH has been unaffected by last night’s downturn. BCH 24-hour trade volume is higher than a few days prior at $2.6Bn, and markets are up 2%. One bitcoin cash is trading at roughly $2500-2650 over the past two hours.

The fifth position held by Cardano (ADA) is down as well seeing a percentage loss of 4.9% as one ADA is $0.68. Lastly, the rest of the top ten cryptocurrencies are down between 2-4% except for the digital asset IOTA which is up 4.8%.

The Verdict

Overall it looks like BTC and a broad swathe of cryptocurrencies may be headed towards some recovery. Earlier this morning on January 11 the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance told the press that it did not agree with the statements made by members of the Ministry of Justice. “We do not share the same views as the Ministry of Justice on a potential cryptocurrency exchange ban,” revealed the MSF’s recent announcement. Cryptocurrency markets have responded with positivity but haven’t gained nearly as much as the dip the night before.

Where do you see the price of bitcoin and other digital assets heading from here? Do you think cryptocurrencies will see more gains? Let us know in the comments below.

Disclaimer: Bitcoin 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 courtesy of Shutterstock, Pixabay, Coinmarketcap, and Bitstamp.

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