Markets Update: Falling Cryptocurrencies Wipe Out Last Week's Gains

Cryptocurrency markets have seen losses over the last 24 hours and since our last markets update five days ago. Since then, most of the top cryptocurrencies have been moving sideways in a tight consolidated pattern. At the moment, the market capitalization of the entire digital asset economy is valued at roughly $125 billion and markets are seeing around $13.4 billion in global trade volume.

Also read: New Software Copernicus Has Mined Its First Bitcoin Cash Block

Cryptocurrency Markets Drop in Value Once Again

It’s another day of trading within the digital asset economy as traders patiently wait for cryptocurrencies to make the next big market move. Prices are lower today after bulls attempted to move higher a couple of times over the weekend. This Monday, Dec. 3, the top 10 digital currency markets are down 3-11% over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin core (BTC) markets are down 6.5% today but are still up 0.87% over the last seven days.

At the time of publication, one BTC is being swapped for $3,889 and the currency’s overall market valuation is just above $67 billion. Ripple (XRP) still commands the second position among the top digital assets and one XRP is trading for $0.35. The third largest capitalization, held by ethereum (ETH), is down 7.3% today. Ethereum has an average price of $108 per coin and an overall market valuation of $11.2 billion. Stellar (XLM) has managed to capture the fourth spot from bitcoin cash (BCH) but is down 6.7% over the last 24 hours. One XLM is being swapped for $0.15 per coin and the market is still up over 2% for the entire week.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Market Action

Bitcoin cash (BCH) markets are down 7.2% over the last day and have lost over 15% this week as well. One BCH is trading for roughly $155-165 per coin and is down to its lowest value in over a year. At the moment, BCH markets have a capitalization of around $2.8 billion and global trades this Monday are capturing $67 million.

BCH trade volume is significantly lower than usual because it was roughly $120 million five days ago. This has put BCH in the 15th position, when it once commanded fifth position in 24-hour trade volume for weeks on end. Ethereum is dominating BCH trades this Monday by 63% out of all bitcoin cash swaps worldwide. This metric is followed by trading pairs like BTC (24%), USDT (8.9%), JPY (1.7%), and the KRW (1%).

BCH/USD Technical Indicators

Looking at the BCH/USD charts shows bulls have a ton of work to do in order for the price to gain some more upward momentum. Technical indicators still point toward the downside, looking at the four-hour interval during this afternoon’s trading sessions. The two common Simple Moving Averages (SMA) have a much wider gap now, with the long-term 200 SMA well above the short-term 100. This indicates the path toward the least resistance is still down rather than up and markets have been showing this data play out in real-time.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) oscillator also shows BCH markets are still oversold but it is not as extreme as RSI levels two weeks ago. Looking at order books shows bulls have to press past the current vantage point and other sell walls all the way up to $225. If buyers can manage to get the price that high, then there seems to be some smoother seas after that. However, things are looking bearish, and if the bears continue to claw prices down, they will be stopped by buyers temporarily between now and $130.

The Verdict: An Elusive Search for Benchmark Prices

Plenty of traders thought the last spike was merely a ‘dead cat bounce’ and prices have plunged significantly over the last six hours. More optimistic individuals continue to believe cryptocurrency prices will rebound by the year’s end. With the price of bitcoin core (BTC) below the $4K mark, many digital asset enthusiasts are wondering when the market bottom will appear. The founder of the cryptocurrency data web portal Cryptocompare, Charles Hayter, thinks a price indicator will arise from the current storm.

“Bitcoin has been correlated to its hashrate and with it now falling, so is the price,” explained Hayter last Tuesday. “The idea is that the hash rate gives some idea of what underlying opex and capital costs people are willing to utilize to generate bitcoin and give it a benchmark price.”

Where do you see the price of BCH, BTC and other coins heading from here? 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, Trading View, and Satoshi Pulse.

Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section.