altcoins

Sea Of Red: Altcoins Dump As Crypto Markets Shed $18 Billion

The inevitable market correction has started and altcoins are leading the drop. From a new 2019 high of $186 billion yesterday, total market capitalization has plunged by $18 billion as recent gains get wiped out again.

The Bears Are Back In Town

Bitcoin failed to break resistance at $5,400 and has fallen back to around $5,000 resulting in a 24 hours loss of 5 percent as BTC drops to its lowest level for a week. Many had predicted the pullback and it has finally started as losses accelerate. Holding $5k will be crucial for Bitcoin if it is to maintain all previous progress and make further moves. At the time of writing BTC is trading at $5,050 on Tradingview.com, a minor recovery after hitting a low of $4,950 a few hours ago.

Altcoins are leading the losses at the moment with several of them dumping hard. Litecoin, which has had a sterling year over doubling in price, has dropped 9% today sliding back to $78. LTC is level pegging on market cap with EOS in fourth as it drops 6% back to $5.30. Bitcoin Cash has also dumped over 6% as it falls back below $270. Bitcoin SV has been trounced dumping over 10% back to $70 and Maker is also in pain with a loss of 9% on the day as MKR falls to $630.

Markets have hit their lowest levels for a week today but they are still up 18% since the beginning of April so all it not lost just yet. Many altcoins are also still way up from their lows in mid-December so unless there is a return to that, when total cap dropped to $100 billion, today’s dump is just another minor market cycle. Some have blamed Brexit but in reality this is very unlikely to have had an effect on crypto markets.

Golden Cross Approaching

Analysts are of mixed opinion as to whether this is the beginning of the final capitulation, mirroring movements from 2015, or it is just another minor correction. A ‘golden cross’ formation is approaching for Bitcoin which could be keeping optimism high at the moment. This is a bullish reversal when a shorter term moving average, usually a 50 day, crosses a longer term one which is usually the 200 day.

In previous bear markets these indicators have served as strong signals that the trend is about to reverse and turn bullish. The past two weeks have certainly rejuvenated the crypto sphere as pumps reminiscent of late 2017 were seen across the board. The next couple of days will be critical for Bitcoin and its brethren.