Bitcoin prices traded marginally lower Thursday, continuing what’s been a subdued few sessions for the world’s largest digital currency.
After Monday’s move higher, bitcoin oscillated on either side of $6,500, and in Thursday a single bitcoin
BTCUSD, -0.27%
was trading at $6,453.14, down 0.9% since Wednesday’s level at 5 p.m. Eastern time on the Kraken exchange.
But one analyst said bitcoin’s lull may be coming to an end. “It’s only a matter of time now,” said Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro, speaking about a potential breakout for bitcoin. “Of course, the flat-line pattern could easily remain for another few months, and that wouldn’t be a bad thing; however, there are signs of excitement boiling underneath the cool price action exterior.”
For Greenspan, the evidence is the rising number of transactions per second. “This is a classic indication that we’re nearing the end of the flat cycle.”
Transactions per second is a barometer for the scalability of blockchain technology, which has been a roadblock to adoption of the distributed-ledger technology.
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If technical levels are breached expect a dramatic response from traders
Echoing the sentiment that the market is on the precipice of a move is Rob Sluymer, technical strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors. “The coming 1-2 weeks could prove to be a near-term pivotal point for many cryptocurrencies,” he wrote in a Thursday research note.
“Why? The majority of cryptocurrencies have remained in narrow consolidations for weeks BUT many are testing important technical trading levels that, if breached, is likely to trigger a dramatic response by traders.”
Sluymer noted that the large-cap, midcap and small-cap indexes that the firm tracks are all pushing resistance, and a move above the index highs in September could be the catalyst for a run higher.
Fundstrat Global Advisors
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Altcoins mostly lower in quiet trading
Altcoins, the collective group of more than 2,000 coins other than bitcoin, followed bitcoin lower Thursday. Ether
ETHUSD, -0.38%
was down 2.1% at $198.76, Bitcoin Cash
BCHUSD, -0.56%
was down 2.3% at $429.10, Litecoin
LTCUSD, -0.31%
was off 2.1% at $51.47 and XRP
XRPUSD, -0.46%
, the cryptocurrency of the Ripple protocol, was trading down 2.3% to 45 cents.
In bitcoin futures, the Cboe Global Markets November contract
XBTX8, -0.93%
is the most active now finished the session down 0.7% at $6,380, while the CME Group October contract
BTCV8, -0.78%
closed Thursday at $6,390, down 0.5%.
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Source : MTV
