• Bitcoin price steadies along the 100-day simple moving average (SMA) before releasing higher.
  • Ethereum price refuses to surrender leadership role with an all-time high.
  • Ripple price stabilizes at the psychologically important $1 before catapulting 30%.

The three majors, BTC, ETH, and XRP, played to the technical indicators like maestros, holding essential support at the most crucial moments and proving that technicals have a role in assessing the state and direction of individual cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin price emphatic as it closes with the best day since February

At Sunday’s low, BTC had lost almost 30% from the April high and closed the week with the second-largest weekly loss since the March meltdown in 2020, the other being in February of this year. The low harmonized with the junction of the March 25 low at $50,305 and the 100-day SMA at $49,500. In parallel, the force of the sell-off drove the flagship cryptocurrency to the most oversold reading on the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) since the March 2020 low. Hence, resetting it to pursue fresh highs and shaking off the bearish momentum divergence that cast a shadow since February.

Before getting too fuzzy, BTC faces hurdles on the path to new highs, such as the 10-week SMA at $54,682 and the 50-day SMA at $56,982. The lower trend line of the rising wedge at $61,870 and, of course, the 361.8% Fibonacci extension of the 2017-2018 bear market at $63,777. To conquer the multitude of resistance levels, the bellwether cryptocurrency will need to command better volume than yesterday.

BTC/USD daily chart

BTC/USD daily chart

Was it a dead-cat bounce? A natural question and relevant in the coming days, particularly if a continuation of the rally stalls around the current price. A failure to ignite has to prompt speculators to define the intersection of the March 25 low and the 100-day SMA as critical support. Any failure at that level exposes BTC to a quick decline to the convergence of the February low at $43,016 with the January high at $41,986 and the 38% retracement of the rally since the March 2020 low at $41,581.

Ethereum price strength affirms leadership intentions

Since the end of March, ETH has not closed one week with a loss. A noteworthy technical achievement considering the magnitude of the losses incurred by most of the altcoins. In fact, the smart contracts token has a printed an all-time high each week during that time. 

Moving forward, ETH has no resistance of note until the confluence of the 161.8% extension of the March 22-23 sell-off at $3,008 with the psychologically important $3,000. Considerable resistance emerges at the cluster of 261.8% extensions related to the 2018 bear market, the February crash, the March decline, and the April decline. The range is from $3,252 to $3,587.

ETH/USD daily chart

ETH/USD daily chart

No doubt ETH could throw a curveball and flip from relative strength leader to the ugly stepchild. Support begins at $2,504 and then falls to $2,041, followed by the 50-day SMA at $2,026 and the rising trendline at $1,960.

Lastly, take note that ETH is printing new highs without the daily RSI printing new highs. A bearish momentum divergence to watch.

Ripple price gain casts shade over most of the cryptocurrency complex

Last week XRP closed down 26.41%, the largest weekly loss since the SEC charged crash in December 2020 of 49%. It yielded a total decline of 55% for the international settlements token from the April high.

XRP responded with a 30% gain yesterday, but today’s follow-through has faded quickly at the 50% retracement of the April decline. More resistance can be expected at the 61.8% retracement at $1.55 and the 78.6% retracement at $1.73.

The prominent levels in the crosshairs are $2.00 and the 61.8% retracement of the 2018-2020 bear market at $2.08.

XRP/USD daily chart

XRP/USD daily chart

The path for Ripple is more complicated than most cryptocurrencies at the moment, with the overhang of the SEC case against key executives headlining media reports regularly. A positive outlook will remain the best approach unless the descending trendline from the April high at $1.15 fails. After that, the big $1 is the final arbitrator over whether XRP heads to $0.80 or not.


Note: All information on this page is subject to change. The use of this website constitutes acceptance of our user agreement. Please read our privacy policy and legal disclaimer. Opinions expressed at FXstreet.com are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of FXstreet.com or its management. Risk Disclosure: Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to invest in foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.

Join Telegram

Recommended content


Recommended Content

Editors’ Picks

Ethereum dips slightly amid Renzo depeg, BlackRock spot ETH ETF amendment

Ethereum dips slightly amid Renzo depeg, BlackRock spot ETH ETF amendment

Ethereum (ETH) suffered a brief decline on Wednesday afternoon despite increased accumulation from whales. This follows Ethereum restaking protocol Renzo restaked ETH (ezETH) crashing from its 1:1 peg with ETH and increased activities surrounding spot Ethereum ETFs.

More Ethereum News

Injective price weakness persists despite over 5.9 million INJ tokens burned

Injective price weakness persists despite over 5.9 million INJ tokens burned

Injective (INJ) price is trading with a bearish bias, stuck in the lower section of the market range. The bearish outlook abounds despite the network's deflationary efforts to pump the price. Coupled with broader market gloom, INJ token’s doomed days may not be over yet.

More Injective News

US intensifies battle against crypto privacy protocols following crackdown on Samourai Wallet

US intensifies battle against crypto privacy protocols following crackdown on Samourai Wallet

CEO Keonne Rodriguez and CTO William Lonergan of Samourai Wallet were arrested by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Wednesday and charged with $100 million in money laundering on a count and illegal money transmitting on another count. This move could see privacy-focused cryptocurrencies take a dip.

More Cryptocurrencies News

Near Protocol Price Prediction: NEAR fulfills targets but a 10% correction may be on the horizon

Near Protocol Price Prediction: NEAR fulfills targets but a 10% correction may be on the horizon

Near Protocol price has completed a 55% mean reversal from the bottom of the market range at $4.27. Amid growing bearish activity, NEAR could drop 10% to the $6.00 psychological level before a potential recovery. A break and close above $7.95 would invalidate the downleg thesis.

More Near Protocol News

Bitcoin: BTC post-halving rally could be partially priced in Premium

Bitcoin: BTC post-halving rally could be partially priced in

Bitcoin (BTC) price briefly slipped below the $60,000 level for the last three days, attracting buyers in this area as the fourth BTC halving is due in a few hours. Is the halving priced in for Bitcoin? Or will the pioneer crypto note more gains in the coming days? 

Read full analysis

BTC

ETH

XRP