Much hysteria and celebration will be had by those holding Bitcoin at the moment as the digital currency smashed another price record today. Buoyed by news that CME group, the world’s largest derivatives exchange group, will be introducing a Bitcoin based futures contract the seemingly unstoppable crypto coin was trading at a high of $6,880 and nudging towards $7,000 today.
While this is fantastic news for those holding the asset it may not be so bright for those who have invested in altcoins. Many of the myriad altcoins available on the market now can only be traded with Bitcoin. The current digital gold rush has caused traders to drop altcoins in favour of holding Bitcoin which has risen by almost $500 in 24 hours and $1,000 in a week.
Those holding altcoins have seen prices plummet this week as the Bitcoin bonanza shows no signs of slowing down. Ethereum has broken through support levels and continues to trend downwards currently trading at around $280. It has failed to make any headway out of the sideways channel between $290 and $310 it has been stuck in for the past two weeks. The momentum is all going Bitcoin’s way.
Likewise with Litecoin, South Korea’s inclusion of the digital asset on its second largest exchange, Coinone, made no difference whatsoever to the price which is still flat and slightly down on the last few days at around $52. Sellers continue to dominate and the flow is going Bitcoin’s way.
Other altcoins are faring no better and the charts are painting a bleak picture at the moment. OmiseGO has lost over 50% of its value since a high of $13 in early September to around $6 today. Even the release of its roadmap for technological development into 2018 was not enough to prevent the coin sliding further downwards.
China’s NEO paints a similar picture; a high of almost $50 in mid-August has been reduced to around $25 today. Rumours that the Chinese government would rescind regulations on crypto exchanges caused a small spike in price but it was unsustainable as the Bitcoin behemoth rolled further skywards.
Ripple which has shown promise of late has slid back to below $0.20, a level it hasn’t seen for two and a half months. Most of the popular altcoins are in the doldrums and the only few piggy backing off Bitcoin’s ascension are Bitcoin Cash and Bitconnect. One common phrase in the crypto sphere is HODL, and it is now more apt than ever for those with altcoins – Hold On for Dear Life.
