Markets Update: Bulls Show Signs of Exhaustion as Crypto Prices Taper

Cryptocurrency prices have dipped slightly since our last markets update as most digital assets are down between 2-7% over the last 24 hours. Today, on May 23, the market capitalization of the entire cryptoconomy is around $237 billion and the daily global trade volume is roughly $77 billion.

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Crypto Markets Suffer From Slight Pullback

Over the last 24 hours, digital asset prices have dropped a hair, losing some of the gains obtained last week. At the moment bitcoin core (BTC) is down 2.7% for the day as well as losing 4% over the course of the week. Currently, one BTC is trading for $7,630 per coin and the entire market has a valuation of around $135 billion this Thursday. The second largest market capitalization belongs to ethereum (ETH) and each coin is swapping for $238. Ripple (XRP) is trading for $0.37 per coin and XRP markets are down 4.9%. The fifth largest market cap is held by litecoin (LTC) as each coin is trading for $86 but market prices have lost 3.9% today. Both LTC and EOS have been fighting for the fifth position over the last few hours, with market caps that are almost identical.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Market Action

Today bitcoin cash (BCH) markets are down 4.8% and roughly 5% over the last week. At press time, one BCH is swapping for $384 per coin and has a market valuation of around $6.87 billion. Right now, global BCH trade volume over the last day has been around $2.65 billion and BCH holds the fifth highest trade volume on May 23. The top five exchanges trading the most bitcoin cash are Coinbene, P2pb2b, Bitmart, Binance, and Huobi. Tether (USDT) is the most dominant currency pair with BCH, capturing 47% of today’s trades. This is followed by BTC (28.5%), USD (10.7%), KRW (8.5%), JPY (1.79%), EUR (1.72%), and ETH (0.54%).

BCH/USD Technical Indicators

Looking at the BCH/USD chart on Kraken shows BCH bulls have been showing some exhaustion after gathering decent momentum last week. Both 4-hour moving averages and oscillators currently show bearish sentiment and uncertainty is in the air. The Relative Strength Index (RSI 41.54) is impartial at the moment but the MACd, a momentum oscillator that subtracts the longer-term moving average from the shorter-term moving average, shows some losses could take place in the short term. The two Simple Moving Averages (SMA), both long and short term, are once again edging toward crossing hairs.

If the 100 SMA drops below the longer term 200, a bullish-to-bearish trend change could come to fruition. The Ichimoku Cloud (9, 26, 52, 26) baseline indicates the price may correct a hair in the short term. Order books show today’s resistance for BCH rests above the $390 mark, and again at the $420 zone. On the backside, if bears manage to leverage the bulls’ exhaustion, they will encounter foundational resistance at the current vantage point and $345 region.

Are Crypto Markets Following the Footsteps of the Past?

Cryptocurrency markets have been extremely volatile lately and after each price gain seen posted across most crypto asset markets, the bullish momentum begins to taper. Three days ago, a technical analyst from JP Morgan argued that BTC prices have touched overbought conditions.

“Over the past few days, the actual price has moved sharply over marginal cost,” explained Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, global market strategist at JP Morgan. “This divergence between actual and intrinsic values carries some echoes of the spike higher in late 2017, and at the time this divergence was resolved mostly by a reduction in actual prices.” It seems many traders are still undecided on whether or not the bull run has begun and many are simply sticking to intra-day and scalp profits from the recent volatility.

Where do you see the price of bitcoin cash and the rest of the crypto markets heading from here? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments 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, Bitcoin.com Markets, JP Morgan, and Coinlib.io.

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