Cryptocurrency market update: Bitcoin and major altcoins range-bound with bearish bias

 The cryptocurrency market is a mixed picture with bitcoin and major altcoins moving directionlessly within the recent ranges. The total market capitalization decreased to $284 billion from $288 billion on Tuesday; an average daily trading volume unchanged at $53 billion.

Top-3 coins  price overview

• BTC/USD tested waters below $9,000 during early Asian hours but managed to regain ground. At the time of writing, the first digital coin is changing hands at $9,160, marginally higher since the beginning of Wednesday and down 1.3% on a day-on-day basis.
• Ethereum, the second largest digital asset with the current market capitalization of $28.4 billion, is trading at $266 handle. The price has been sliding since it touched the area above $273 on Monday. ETH/USD has gained nearly 1% on its value on Wednesday but lost 1.7% in recent 24 hours.
• Ripple's XRP has settled below $0.43 amid a strong downside momentum triggered by technical factors. The third largest coin with the current market capitalization of $18.2 billion, has decreased by 4% from this time on Tuesday and hit $0.4246 during early Asian hours.

The biggest market-movers

• Tezos (XTZ) is the worst-performing cryptocurrency on Wednesday. The 19th largest coin with the market value of $819 million is changing hands at $1.24, which is over 7% lower from this time on Tuesday.
• ZCash (ZEC) is a big gainer today. The coin is up over 11% on a day-on-day basis, trading at $115.16 at the time of writing. This is the 21st coin in CoinMarketCap's rating with the current market capitalization of $781 million.