After a prolonged period of downwards trading, the cryptocurrency markets have surged today, with Bitcoin breaking well above $4,000 and most altcoins surging 10% or more. Today’s move appears to have validated the cryptocurrency market’s recent lows as a temporary bottom.
Bitcoin Could Have Formed Temporary Bottom
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading up nearly 13% at its current price of $4,300, up significantly from its 2018 low of $3,600 which was set earlier this week.
As discussed in yesterday’s market update, $3,600 has held as a support level on multiple occasions, and today’s upwards move could prove that this price is a temporary bottom. This possibility will only be validated if Bitcoin, and the markets in general, are able to uphold their current prices. If they are unable to sustain their momentum, however, $3,600 will likely be the first major support level for Bitcoin as it descends downwards.
Alexander Kuptsikevich, a markets analyst at FX Pro Insights, recently spoke about the importance of the $3,500 region, noting that this price region was where Bitcoin built the majority of its upwards momentum in September of 2017.
“It is worth paying attention to the market behavior near $3,500. This is an area that saw drastic increase back in September 2017, so technical analysis urges us to track the price dynamics near these levels,” he explained.
Bitcoin’s latest move has led the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization to increase from its weekly lows of $115 billion to its current levels of nearly $140 billion.
Altcoins Surge, But Generally Underperform Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s upwards move has led the entire cryptocurrency markets up, with many altcoins surging 10% or more.
At the time of writing, XRP is trading up over 11% at its current price of $0.396, up significantly from its weekly lows of $0.32. XRP is now trading up over 65% from its 2018 lows of $0.24 and has maintained its lead over Ethereum as the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap behind Bitcoin.
Ethereum (ETH) has so far been able to recover some of its recent losses, currently trading up 13.85% at its current price of nearly $123.60. ETH is currently sitting 23% above its 2018 low of just under $100.
Today’s best performing altcoins have been Stellar (XLM) and Litecoin (LTC), which are trading up 15% and 14% respectively. Stellar is currently trading at $0.164, off its recent lows of $0.137. Litecoin is currently trading at $34.91, up from its recent lows of $27.
How the markets respond to today’s rally long-term will prove to be incredibly important for where the markets head in the months to come, as their recently established lows may prove to be a bottom as long as their current upwards momentum is sustained.