It’s no secret that November proved to be a terrible month for the cryptocurrency markets, and it now appears that the instability is extending into December, with Bitcoin currently approaching its recently set 2018 lows.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading down just under 5% at its current price of $3,780. Bitcoin was unable to maintain above $3,900 after failing to stay above $4,000, which is an important psychological level.
As Bitcoin faces mounting downwards pressure, it is becoming increasingly likely that it will revisit its 2018 low of $3,600, which should prove to be a strong level of support. If Bitcoin breaks below its current year-to-date low, it will likely fall into the low-$3,000 region before finding support.
Although market sentiment has hit rock bottom, one analyst is cautiously optimistic about the current state of the markets, and recently told MarketWatch that there is more upside than downside, despite how unstable the crypto markets currently appear to be.
Bitcoin continues flirting with the $4k level as it struggles to find its footing following the latest selloff. But given how far we fell, at this point there is more upside than downside. That said, few things move as far and as fast as cryptocurrencies,” said Jani Ziedens of CrackedMarket.Altcoins Follow
Bitcoin’s Lead and Drift Lower
The altcoins markets are following BTC’s lead today and are trading down, with multiple alts plummeting more than 10%.
Today’s worst performing major altcoin is Bitcoin Cash, which is currently trading down over 12% at its current price of $134.20. BCH has now set fresh 2018 lows around $130 and is currently trading down nearly 80% from its one-month highs of approximately $630.
EOS is also one of today’s worst performing altcoins and is currently trading down just over 10% at its current price of $2.22. EOS is currently trading down over 60% from its monthly highs of $5.73.
EOS’s poor performance is the result of controversy surrounding one of the altcoin’s block producers offering money to users who vote in a specific way. This activity negates the perceived decentralization of the network, and, in other terms, is equivalent to a politician offering citizens money to vote for them.
XRP is currently one of the better performing altcoins, only trading down 4% compared to BTC, which is trading down nearly 5%. XRP is trading at $0.34 and is still sitting significantly above its year-to-date lows of $0.24.
Investors should watch for how Bitcoin responds to the $3,600 region in the coming days, and it will likely continue to lead the direction of the entire cryptocurrency market.