China and cryptocurrencies

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Last Friday’s rumored Chinese crypto-exchange ban that pushed the segment into turmoil entered another phase today, as local regulators confirmed that the legislation is ‘certain’, and issued a verbal shutdown order to the local exchanges. The sector is in full panic mode today, and with the session’s added double digit losses, the total market value of the coins now shrank by around 30% from its recent highs near $175 billion.

Bitcoin

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Bitcoin itself is down by almost 30% from its $5000 record price, with the most valuable coin losing 20% since the first rumor of the ban.

Despite the huge decline, BTC is still well above its break-out level near $3000, holding on to a large chunk of the advance that developed after the Bitcoin Cash fork.

Ethereum

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Ethereum is hit even harder, trading nearly 40% below the price levels of early September, although the backbone of the ICO boom failed to reach its June high during the recent rally.The ETH token is now trading right in our target zone for the market correction that we have been expecting in recent weeks.

The sell-off that has been boosted by the recent comments of Jamie Dimon, and the previously leaked Chinese ban on ICOs was already baked in the cake after the stellar rise 200% rise in the sector from mid-July to September. The surprisingly quick double crackdown might have accelerated the move, but a deep correction was needed to reset the overly bullish sentiment towards the sector.

While the full extent of the ban and the possible consequences are still unclear, the segment might be very close to a panic low, which could present great buying opportunities in the ongoing boom. That said, volatility is likely to stay elevated in the coming days, so traders should avoid leveraged bets in the sector and focus on long-term position building.