Following a week of generally positive volatility in the cryptocurrency markets, multiple altcoins are now trading down 5% or more as Bitcoin failed to stabilize above $6,500. The recent market action ultimately leaves investors wondering the same question that has been pondered all year: will the markets see an end-of-year rally as we head into the winter months?
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $6,450 on the aggregated markets, down just over 1% over a 24-hour trading period. Despite falling below $6,500, Bitcoin is still trading within its long-established trading range between $6,200 and $6,700, and it has yet to decisively move above or below the parameters of this range.
As mentioned in yesterday’s market update, during BTC’s period of sideways trading, multiple altcoins have had an incredibly profitable week, with the recent market surge being primarily led by Ripple (XRP) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Today, however, these two cryptocurrencies have been the worst performers, with XRP trading down nearly 8% and BCH trading down just over 6%.
Despite having a rough day filled with bearish trading volume, these two cryptocurrencies could see better pricing in the coming days, depending on whether or not today’s drop was simply a temporary retrace resulting from profit taking from traders.
Bitcoin Cash especially has a high chance of seeing continued gains up until its hard fork event which is scheduled to occur on November 15th. Traders may place long positions on BCH in hopes of continued buying preceding this event, and investors may increase their positions in order to get free units of the cryptocurrency resulting from the hard fork.
Will the Markets See An End-of-Year Rally?
The choppy and mixed trading action the markets have witnessed over the past few days and weeks have called into question the likelihood of the prophesied end-of-year rally that tends to occur in the cryptocurrency markets each year.
One popular cryptocurrency trader and analyst named Lisa Edwards (@LisaNEdwards) spoke to Covesting, explaining that she believes that we are currently in the midst of the end-of-year rally and that multiple cryptocurrencies (including BTC, ZEC, and DASH) are primed for a run. “I believe we are in an end of year run. Bottom is in for now, and we should continue to see higher lows and higher highs leading up to Christmas. It seems Santa Clause is feeling jolly, forget Rudolph, Dasher and Prancer... and buy BTC ZEC and DASH,” she said.