These are quite interesting times for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. With the markets going through a massive decline over the weekend, things were not looking all that great. Despite showing signs of recovery, the Bitcoin price remains somewhat volatile for the time being. A 2.66% gain has been noted over the past 24 hours, but it seems there is plenty of pressure to push the price back down.
What is the Next Move for Bitcoin?
It is incredibly difficult to determine what the Bitcoin price will do next. Some people rely on technical analysis and charting to predict what the future may hold, although doing so is not always the best course of action. More to the point, technical analysis is a speculative tool more than anything else. The patterns are there to be taken advantage of, but they may head in an entirely different direction than what was originally assumed.
This is especially true when it comes to Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies, though some certainties are virtually guaranteed. As soon as the Bitcoin price goes up in value, the rest of the cryptocurrency ecosystem almost always follows. We have seen the Bitcoin price recover a bit over the past 24 hours, despite the gains being relatively small for the time being. A 2.66% price change for Bitcoin is next to nothing, as it hints at future price volatility over the coming days and weeks.
As is to be expected, most top altcoins benefit from an increase in the Bitcoin price. Some do so more than others, though, which is not entirely surprising. One thing few people will find normal is how Litecoin only moved 0.08% over the past 24 hours. This seems to indicate that the LTC value has very little to do with Bitcoin price momentum. It’s an interesting development, although one has to keep in mind that this is only a momentary snapshot of how markets are evolving. Things can always change at any given moment.
The currency that benefited most from Bitcoin’s price rise is Ethereum, which netted a 19.59% gain over the past day. It is evident that the value of Ethereum is determined by successfully riding Bitcoin’s coattails. Not everyone may agree with this statement, but it is difficult to deny the obvious truth when it is staring you in the face. Unlike Litecoin, Ethereum needs Bitcoin to maintain a specific value before it can go up in price itself. That is a bit strange considering that both currencies aren’t competing with one another.
The 24-hour trading volume clearly favors Ethereum as well. With over US$3.1b in trading volume compared to US$1.53b for Bitcoin, it is not hard to see who the market leader is right now. This volume is mainly driven by Bithumb and Coinone in Korea, as well as OKCoin in China. Bithumb, though, clearly has a lead of over US$200m in ETH/KRW volume compared to Coinone. Bitcoin’s trading volume mainly comes from ETH/BTC on Poloniex, followed by BTC/USD on Bitfinex. All of these developments are rather intriguing to keep an eye on; that much is evident.
All of this goes to show how a healthy Bitcoin price is good for all altcoins in the top 10. However, Bitcoin is struggling to move back to US$2, 500 right now, as it seems to be hovering around US$2,340 for the time being. There is not enough fiat currency trading volume to push the price further upward, and it remains to be seen if the current price can be maintained. For the time being, it looks like we may see another Bitcoin price drop over the next day or so.
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