Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin whales claims rally to $9,500 is a pump and dump movie

Bitcoin made a spectacular move on Wednesday and Thursday amid warnings from the United States Federal Reserve that the economy is staring into a "medium-term” disaster. The regulator has decided to keep the lending rates near zero and urged that more stimulus be advanced if and when needed. Global economies are on the verge of collapse as governments channel most of the resources towards the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, the US economy will fall further on the account of three factors including the uncertainty of the Coronavirus curve, reduced production capacity and the crisis’ global dimension.

Bitcoin lift-off amid the US Fed warning

The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin made a remarkable move from levels under $8,000 to highs close to $9,500. The price action has left most investors in surprise because such a move was unexpected, especially two weeks before the halving. However, Joe007, a renowned trader has brushed off the surge as a “definition of an illiquid altcoin.” Another trader, ZeroHedge’s Tyler Durden in regards to the rally said:

Hilarious cycle it’s been through. My hope is that the halving will financially destroy as many Chinese miners as possible and we can actually have a legitimate bull market instead of this pump and dump movie.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has retreated from $9,476 (April high) to the current $9,164. Its trend remains bullish even as the volatility continues to increase. The earlier published analysis found that Bitcoin had the potential to correct above $10,000 before the halving. However, the price action will depend on buyers’ ability to support above $9,000.

Chart of the day: BTC daily

Ethereum and Ripple price update

Ethereum also soared to new monthly highs after stepping above the resistance at $220. The bulls extended the price action above $225 but the momentum hit a wall at $227. In the meantime, ETH/USD has corrected under $220 and exchanging hands at $218.

On the other hand, Ripple surged to highs above $0.23 amid the widespread bullish action. Although the bulls had their eyes glued on $0.25, a high was reached at $0.2357, marking the end of the rally. At the time of writing, XRP/USD is valued at $0.2262 amid a growing bearish trend. If Ripple bulls can find support above $0.22 they will have the time to gather the energy to tackle the resistance at $0.24 and $0.25.