After a highly volatile day that saw a significant $5,500 move from bitcoin to beneath $28,000, the cryptocurrency has calmed above $30,000. Most alternative coins have retraced from yesterday’s highs as well, but Ethereum still hovers above $1,000.
The new year began wildly positive for the primary cryptocurrency with consecutive all-time highs – the latest neared $35,000. However, bitcoin went on a volatile ride that saw about $5,500 of its value evaporate in merely hours as Monday came.
Speculations emerged that BTC’s massive drop was triggered by a gap left opened on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange from last week. Bitcoin filled the gap at $29,000 and surged back above $30,000 shortly after.
The cryptocurrency even initiated a leg up that took it up to $33,000 in the following hours. However, the bears took control once more and pushed it down to its current level of approximately $31,000.
From a technical perspective, the key support levels situated at $30,300, $30,000, and $29,300 could assist in case of another retracement. Alternatively, the resistance lines at $32,200, $33,100, and the ATH at $34,800 are the first major obstacles if BTC resumes its bull run.
The increased volatility didn’t miss the altcoin market yesterday. Ethereum was among the most notable performers as it pumped to its highest price tag in almost three years at $1,170.
However, ETH dumped rather vigorously to $900 almost immediately after its peak. Nevertheless, the second-largest digital asset reclaimed $1,000 and current hovers above it.
Ripple is about 10% down on a 24-hour scale to $0.23. Bitcoin Cash (-11%), Binance Coin (-6%), Chainlink (-11%), Polkadot (-7%), Cardano (-6%), and Litecoin (-8%) are also in the red.
Further losses are evident from Ren (-11%), TRON (-11%), Ontology (-11%), Verge (-11%), NEAR Protocol (-10%), and BitTorrent (-10%).
The total market cap has dropped from yesterday’s peak of $920 billion to $850 billion. Bitcoin’s dominance has decreased slightly from the recent highs to 68.1%.
