Cryptocurrency market update: ETH and XRP show signs of life
- XRP looks to post daily gains for fourth straight time.
- Bitcoin continues to move sideways above the $7,500 mark.
- ETH adds around 2% on Sunday following the Istanbul hard fork.
After staying relatively quiet on Saturday, major cryptocurrencies are posting modest gains on Sunday but they continue to have a hard time gathering enough momentum to move out of their recent ranges.
Top-three coins price overview
Bitcoin (BTC/USD) erased 0.5% on Saturday and was last seen adding 0.5% on Sunday at $7,550. For the week, the pair remains on track to post gains for the second straight week. Despite today's recovery, technical indicators don't suggest that the pair has started to gather bullish momentum. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily chart stays flat near the 50 mark. Supports for BTC are located at $7,450 (20-day MA), $7,080 (December low) and $6,500 (Nov. 25 low). The initial hurdle aligns at $8,000 (Fibonacci 38.2% retracement of October 25- November 25 drop) ahead of $8,500 (Fibonacci 50% retracement of October 25- November 25 drop) and $8,750 (100-day MA).
Although Ethereum (ETH/USD) stayed surprisingly quiet following the highly-anticipated Istanbul hard fork, the second-largest cryptocurrency gained traction in the second half of the day and was last seen trading at $151, up 2.4% on the day. With today's rebound, the daily RSI moved above the 40 mark for the first time in December, suggesting that buyers are looking to take control of the price action. $154 (20-day moving average) could be seen as the first resistance before $160 (former static support/November 29 high) and $175 (100-day moving average). On the downside, supports are located at $143 (December 4 low) ahead of $132 (November 25 low) and $124 (March 4 low).
Ripple (XRP/USD) seems to be taking advantage of the upbeat mood surrounding the cryptocurrencies on Sunday. At the moment, the pair is trading at its highest level since November 29 at $0.2330 and is looking to close the fourth straight day higher while adding around 3% on a weekly basis. On the upside, $0.24 (Fibonacci 23.6% retracement of September 16 - September 23 drop) could be the first resistance ahead of $0.2500 (psychological level) and $0.2560 (Fibonacci 38.2% retracement of September 16 - September 23 drop). Supports could be seen at $0.2290 (20-day MA), $0.2110 (December 4 low) and $0.2025 (2-year low/November 25 low).
Author
Eren Sengezer
FXStreet
As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.
