- Bitcoin price has been consolidating between $94,000 and $100,000 for almost two weeks.
- Ethereum price trades around $2,680 on Monday after a mild rise of 1.3% in the previous week.
- XRP extends its gains on Monday after rallying 14% last week.
Bitcoin (BTC) has been consolidating between $94,000 and $100,000 for almost two weeks. Ethereum (ETH) price follows in BTC’s footsteps and hovers around $2,680, while Ripple (XRP) shows strength and extends its gains on Monday after rallying 14% last week.
Bitcoin seen consolidating before a big move
Bitcoin price broke below the $100,000 support level on February 4 and has been consolidating between $94,000 and $100,000 since then. At the time of writing on Monday, BTC hovers around $96,400.
If BTC breaks and closes below the lower boundary of the consolidating range of $94,000, it could extend the decline to test its psychologically important level of $90,000.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily chart reads 44, consolidating after being rejected at its neutral level of 50 last week and indicating slightly bearish momentum. Moreover, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed a bearish crossover and red histogram bars, hinting at further correction.
BTC/USDT daily chart
However, if BTC breaks above the upper boundary of the consolidating range of $100,000, it would extend the recovery to retest its January 31 high of $106,012.
Ethereum bulls aim for $3,000 mark
Ethereum price faced a rejection around its descending trendline on February 1 and declined 13.87%, closing below its $3,000 psychologically important level the next day. ETH continued its correction by nearly 9% in the following week. However, ETH prices recovered slightly by 1.3% the previous week. At the time of writing on Monday, it hovers around $2,670.
If ETH continues to recover, it could extend the recovery to test the $3,000 level.
The RSI on the daily chart reads 38, bounced off from its oversold level of 30, indicating fewer signs of selling pressure. However, the RSI must trade above its neutral level of 50 to sustain the bullish momentum. Such a development would add a tailwind to the recovery rally. Moreover, the MACD indicator showed a bullish crossover on the daily chart last week, giving buy signals and indicating an upward trend ahead.
ETH/USDT daily chart
On the other hand, if ETH continues its decline and closes below $2,359, it will extend the decline to test its next weekly support at $1,905.
XRP momentum indicators reflect bullish price action
Ripple price rallied 14% last week, breaking above the daily level of $2.72 on Friday and finding support around it on Sunday. At the time of writing on Monday, it hovers around its daily support of $2.72.
If the daily level of $2.72 holds, XRP will extend the rally to retest its January 16 high of $3.40.
The RSI on the daily chart reads 54, above its neutral level of 50, indicating bullish momentum. Moreover, like Ethereum, XRP’s MACD indicator showed a bullish crossover on the daily chart last week, giving buy signals and indicating an upward trend ahead.
XRP/USDT daily chart
However, if XRP closes below the daily support level of $2.72, it would extend the decline to test its next support level at $1.96.
Bitcoin, altcoins, stablecoins FAQs
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.
