Bitcoin prices were holding the $6,000 level early Tuesday, with traders seemingly taking stock after the recent selloff put dents in many digital asset portfolios.
In early Tuesday trading, a single bitcoin
BTCUSD, -0.24%
was going for $6,258.02, down 0.7% since Monday at 5 p.m. on the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange. The price of bitcoin has tumbled 14% since the beginning of September.
Meanwhile, trading in bitcoin futures volumes has sunk. On Monday, just 1,965 contracts changed hands on the CME Group exchange, down 28.7% from Friday and down 72.2% from one month ago. Monday also was the lightest trading day over the last four weeks.
Over at the Cboe, Kevin Davitt, senior instructor for The Options Institute, said a break of $6,000 would likely see a retest of the 2018 lows, which would be a record low for a futures contract.
“The September XBT futures bounced off those levels on numerous occasions over the last three months. If the market fails to hold the 6000 handle, then traders will almost certainly eye the contract lows (5850) and all-time XBT futures lows of 5755 on June 29.”
Read: Bitcoin Is Flirting With a New Low for the Year After the SEC Stopped Trading on 2 Funds
Ether slides further, market cap dips below $20 billion
The woes for Ether holders continue Tuesday as the coin that operates on the ethereum network traded lower. Ether
ETHUSD, -2.83%
was last at $189.42, down 3.5%, which saw the market cap of the second-largest digital currency fall below $20 billion, to $19.5 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Other altcoins, or coins alternative to bitcoin, are in the red too. Bitcoin Cash
BCHUSD, +0.00%
was down 0.7% to $461.60, Litecoin
LTCUSD, -0.56%
was down 1.2% at $53.10 and Ripple’s XRP coin
XRPUSD, -0.66%
was at 26 cents, down 1.2%.
Futures are marginally lower in early Tuesday trading. The Cboe Global Markets Group Inc.’s September contract
XBTU8, +0.32%
was down 0.1% at $6,240, while the comparable CME Group Inc. September contract
BTCU8, -0.16%
was down 0.3% at $6,245
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Source : MTV