Bitcoin’s Price Re-Captures the $16K Territory

The weekend is coming, and things are looking far more optimistic for bitcoin markets than the last two holiday weekends. BTC/USD market value has jumped considerably since it hit a low of $11,600 across global exchanges with the price now averaging $16,500 per BTC on January 5. Last week a bunch of tokens priced under $5 USD like ripple, stellar, and others had seen exponential rises while BTC markets moved sideways. Today’s BTC spike is seeing many of those coins dip in value by 15-20 percent.

The Big BTC Rebound Back to $16K

Bitcoin core markets have rebounded over the past two days as each token has gained over $1,000 in value per day. A few days ago when Peter Thiel announced he purchased millions worth of BTC the price jumped from the low $14,000 range to over $15,000 but remained stable until today. Other coins like NEM, ripple, and ethereum saw considerable jumps in value while bitcoin core markets bounced between $14900-15,200 during the last 48 hours. Today is a different story as BTC has risen to a high of $16,500 during the mid-afternoon’s trading sessions.

Today’s most popular trade on Shapeshift with BTC is ETH.

BTC trade volume is considerably strong with over $22Bn worth swapped over the past 24-hours. The most prominent exchanges holding the most volume today are Binance, Bitfinex, Bithumb, Bittrex, and Poloniex. South Korea’s Bithumb and other trading platforms in that region are trading bitcoin, ripple, and other digital assets at a premium. The USD is still the dominant currency traded with BTC at the moment as the currency captures 36 percent. This is followed by the Japanese yen (31%), tether (USDT 10%), the Korean won (10%) and the euro (5.6%). According to Shapeshift, the most traded cryptocurrency with bitcoin at the moment is ethereum.

Technical Indicators

Looking at the charts shows things are looking up for bitcoin core (BTC) markets on January 5. The decentralized currency reached a high of $16,500 but dropped immediately after to $16,300. The two Simple Moving Averages (SMA) have a very wide gap between the 100 SMA and 200 SMA, indicating bulls are in charge for the short-term. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Stochastic oscillators also suggest the path to resistance is currently on the upside.

At press time the price per BTC is $16,400 at 3 pm EDT.

Heavier resistance is currently forming in the $16,800 to $17K range so look for pit stops at these vantage points. On the back side if bears manage to drag the price down some order books show some foundations at $15,800 and $15,500 for the time being. Order books show a much stronger pattern of consolidation has taken place as there is a very strong floor at $15K that should hold for a good portion of the time.

Crypto-Markets Are About to Capture a $1 Trillion Dollar Valuation

There is a mix of action happening as far as other digital asset markets are concerned today. As mentioned above most of the coins that have risen considerably while BTC remained stable are now suffering from price corrections. The second highest valued cryptocurrency ripple (XRP) is down 10 percent as one XRP is $3.07. The token came awfully close to reaching $4 per XRP the day prior. The third largest market cap is held by ethereum (ETH), and the coin hit an all-time high yesterday at over $1,000 per ETH. Ethereum markets are down right now 2.6 percent as each ETH is worth $985. Bitcoin cash (BCH) has had a correlated relationship with BTC prices over the past week and a half. Volume is down a touch at $2.1Bn traded over the past 24-hours while BCH markets are up 4 percent. Each bitcoin cash is now worth $2,557 at press time. Lastly, the top five spot is still held by Cardano (ADA) but markets are down 7 percent with one ADA averaging $1.07.

The top ten cryptocurrency assets.

Optimism is high on all cryptocurrency courts as many digital assets are still very valuable after the holiday dips. Alongside these technical indicators reveal the cryptocurrency ‘perma-bull run’ doesn’t seem like it’s ending anytime soon. The entire cryptocurrency market cap is steadily approaching $1 trillion USD in value and the technology being taken very seriously in the world of finance.

Bear Scenario: If bears manage to muster up some strength they could pull the price back down to the lower $15K region, but it would take a lot at this vantage point. Watch the Displaced Moving Average (DMA) break $15,200 for lower numbers.

Bull Scenario: Buyers are in control and have managed to push prices back into the $16K region. On the global level, some countries are seeing higher averages of above $17K and significant premiums compared to the global spot price. Bulls need to crack the $16,800 region to begin a larger upside battle and above $17K will be difficult as well. If they can break these zones, $18,000 is not too far from sight.