Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) show signs of weakness after being unable to break through key resistance levels. Ripple (XRP) mirrors this trend as it struggles to maintain momentum, suggesting potential declines ahead.
Bitcoin price declined by 2.3% until Tuesday after facing resistance at around the psychologically significant $70,000 level on Monday. At the time of writing on Wednesday, it continues to trade slightly lower at around $67,000.
If BTC continues its retracement, it could decline further to retest its next psychological support level, $66,000.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily chart trades at 59 and points downwards after rejecting an overbought level of 70 on Sunday, indicating weakness in bullish momentum. If it continues to decline and closes below its neutral level of 50, it could lead to a sharp decline in Bitcoin price.
BTC/USDT daily chart
However, if BTC breaks and closes above $70,079, it could rally to its next key barrier, which is already the all-time high of $73,777 seen in mid-March.
Ethereum faced resistance around its descending trendline (drawn by joining multiple highs from the end of May) on Monday and declined 4.5% until Tuesday. As of Wednesday, it continues its decline, trading around $2,600.
If ETH continues its retracement, it could decline further to retest its daily support level of around $2,461.
The RSI indicator is trading at 53 and points downwards on the daily chart after rejection around its overbought level of 70 on Sunday, indicating weakness in bullish momentum. If RSI continues to decline and closes below its neutral level of 50, it could lead to a sharp decline in Ethereum price.
ETH/USDT daily chart
On the other hand, if ETH breaks the descending trendline and closes above $2,820, Ethereum price could rally to retest its next daily resistance at $2,927.
Ripple price faced resistance from its 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $0.552 level on Monday and declined 2.6% until Tuesday. As of Wednesday, it continues to trade slightly down around $0.531.
If the 200-day EMA at $0.552 holds as resistance, it could continue its decline to retest its October 3 low of $0.506.
The RSI indicator on the daily chart is trading at 41, below its neutral level of 50, suggesting that bearish momentum is gaining traction.
XRP/USDT daily chart
However, if XRP breaks and closes above the 200-day EMA at $0.552, it could continue its rally to retest its next daily resistance at $0.626.
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a virtual currency designed to serve as money. This form of payment cannot be controlled by any one person, group, or entity, which eliminates the need for third-party participation during financial transactions.
Altcoins are any cryptocurrency apart from Bitcoin, but some also regard Ethereum as a non-altcoin because it is from these two cryptocurrencies that forking happens. If this is true, then Litecoin is the first altcoin, forked from the Bitcoin protocol and, therefore, an “improved” version of it.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable price, with their value backed by a reserve of the asset it represents. To achieve this, the value of any one stablecoin is pegged to a commodity or financial instrument, such as the US Dollar (USD), with its supply regulated by an algorithm or demand. The main goal of stablecoins is to provide an on/off-ramp for investors willing to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins also allow investors to store value since cryptocurrencies, in general, are subject to volatility.
Bitcoin dominance is the ratio of Bitcoin's market capitalization to the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined. It provides a clear picture of Bitcoin’s interest among investors. A high BTC dominance typically happens before and during a bull run, in which investors resort to investing in relatively stable and high market capitalization cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. A drop in BTC dominance usually means that investors are moving their capital and/or profits to altcoins in a quest for higher returns, which usually triggers an explosion of altcoin rallies.