The recovery stalls, market braces for another bearish wave

July 22, 2020 Editor Ripple 0

  • Regulators around the globe refocus their attention to the cryptocurrency industry
  • Bitcoin resumes the sidelined trading with bearish bias after a failure to clear the local resistance
  • ETH/BTC struggles to stay above pivotal area of $0.02600.

The cryptocurrency market slowed down again after an initial attempt to develop bullish momentum. Bitcoin and major altcoins settled above local resistance levels, but the further upside impulse has faded away. Investors have taken a wait-and-see approach as the high level of uncertainty limits their appetite for active trading. 

As coronavirus threats eased, policymakers and regulators shifted their attention to the regulation and taxation of digital assets. Thus, Russia has made some progress with its DIgital Law, while South Korea finalized the cryptocurrency income tax legislation. Traders and investors with the annual income from cryptocurrency trading over 2.5 million KRW will have to pay an income tax of 20%. Also, China speeds up the development of the state-backed blockchain infrastructure to cement its leading role in the development of this emerging technology. 

At the opening of the European session, Bitcoin is hovering below $9,400, mostly unchanged both on a day-to-day basis and since the beginning of. Ethereum settled above $243.00 after a short-lived jump to $245.00, while XRP is changing hands at $0.1980.

NEO is the best-performing asset out of top-30 with nearly 7% of gains on a day-to-day basis. The coin with the current market value of $792 million takes the 21st place in the global cryptocurrency market rating. 

Stock markets edged lower amid growing geopolitical tensions. US and China conflict flare up as the U.S. ordered China’s Houston consulate to quickly close on IP issues. Traders are concerned that the deteriorating relationship might increase pressure on the global economy.

ETH/BTC Daily Chart

ETH/BTC is currently trading at 0.02600. The cross settled above the local resistance after a spike to $0.2625 on Tuesday. The support is now created by the upward-looking middle line of the daily Bollinger Band at $0.02578. ETH/BTC needs to stay above 0.026, to retain the bullish bias in the short run. The 50-day Simple Moving Average has flattened at 0.02524. If it is broken, the price may drop to 0.024 with 100-day located above this area.

Above the current price, the first resistance level is at 0.02626, then the second at 0.0264 and the third one at 0.0270.

Below the current price, the first support level is at 0.02578, then the second at 0.0250 and the third one at 0.0240.

BTC/USD Daily Chart

BTC/USD is currently trading at $9,330. The first digital coin struggles to stay above 50-day SMA as the upside momentum faded away on approach to $9,400 reinforced by the upper line of the daily Bollinger Band. BTC/USD has stayed mostly unchanged both on a day-to-day basis and since the beginning of Wednesday. A sustainable move below $9,200 will worsen the short-term picture, while a critical support is still created by the psychological barrier of $9,000. The upward-looking 100-day SMA reinforces the channel support and separates the coin from an extended sell-off towards 200-day SMA at $8,550 zone.

Above the current price, the first resistance level is at $9,500, then the second at $10,000 and the third one at $10,400.

Below the current price, the first support level is at $9,000, then the second at $8,550 and the third one at $8,400.

ETH/USD Daily Chart

ETH/USD is currently trading at $243.43 supported by the 50-day SMA coupled with the middle line of the daily Bollinger Band on approach to $236. If it is broken, the downside momentum may gain traction and push the price towards 100-day SMA100 above $218; however, the critical support is created by 200-day simple moving average on approach to $200 level. This area will serve as a good backstop for the coin. On the upside, the next resistance is created by the upper line of the daily Bollinger Band at $248.

Above the current price, the first resistance level is at $260, then the second at $270 and the third one at $300.

Below the current price, the first support level is at $240, then the second at $200 and the third one at $185.

XRP/USD Daily Chart

XRP/USD is currently trading at $0.1980. The coin managed to stay above 100-day SMA rspite the retreat from the recent recovery high above $0.2000. We will need to see a sustainable move above $0.2020 (July 19 recovery high) for the bullish to gain traction and take the price outside the long-term bearish channel. The 100-day SMA at $0.1966 serves as an initial support level that may slow down the bears and initiate the recovery towards psychological $0.2000 followed by the above-mentioned $0.2020. Once it is out of the way, the upside is likely to gain traction with the next focus on 200-day SMA on approach t0 $0.2100. 

Above the current price, the first resistance level is at $0.2000, then the second at $0.2020 and the third one at $0.21.

Below the current price, the first level of support is at $0.1965, then the second at $0.1900 and the third one at $0.1800.