The market correction that a number of analysts have predicted has hit, with leading cryptocurrencies losing in double digits in the last 24 hours. Market leaders bitcoin and Ethereum were not among the biggest losers, dropping 12.81% and 16.04% in the last 24 hours, respectively, but their market cap losses were in the billions, falling to $37.4 billion and $28.9 billion, respectively.
Ripple, a distant number three in market capitalization at just under $10 billion, lost over 12%. NEM, number four, lost over 17%, while Ethereum Classic, number five, lost 13.77%. Litecoin, number 6, suffered the least among thbillion-dollarar players, losing just over%. Eighth placed IOTA was the biggest loser among the cryptocurrencies with more than $1 billion in market capitalization, falling 36.5% when its price fell to $0.38.
All top 100 cryptocurrencies tumbled in the last 24 hours, according to marketcap.com, except for four: Quantum Resistant Ledger, the number 41 cryptocurrency with $81.4 million market capitalization, jumped 19.43%; LBRY Credits, number 57, posted an 18.24% gain; Xarum, number 62, gained 10,4%, and ZCoin, number 69, gained 9.58%.
The correction that began Monday continued after a breather yesterday, as bitcoin failed to launch a new rally towards all-time highs and rolled over after the bounce. Correlations are high once again, as is usual for a correction, and its likely that bitcoin and Ethereum will dictate the trend of the coming days, with small cap coinsfollowing the majors lower.
Bitcoin continues to trade near its lows from Monday, and it will likely head for a test of the $2375 level, as it clears its overbought momentum readings. The rising long-term trendline is found near $2200, providing further strong support. The long-term picture remains bullish, but there is room for further correction after the strong rally since the end of March.
A 30%-50% correction, that has been the normal for bitcoin in the past, is a huge psychological burden that makes a panic sale likely, usually just before the bottom. Because of this, buyers are advised to wait for the correction and oversold readings, even for those planning to buy it at a higher price later on.
Analyst Nicola Duke of Forex Analytix predicted hefty price corrections for both bitcoin and Ethereum in late May. Duke said bitcoin could experience a 46.5% price correction at $2,800 afterwitnessing arecord $2,791.70 high in late May. After reaching $2,800, Duke predicted it would fall and reach as low as $1,470, marking a 46.5% drop from the late May price.
Duke expects the correction to be temporary, with the price recovering, and continue its upward movement through 2018. An analysis called the Fibonacci retracement examines the peaks through different periods of up and down movements to determine future asset prices.
In wave two, in the fall of 2013, bitcoin bottomed out in January 2015 before rebounding for several months and then declining again. It rebounded again in January of 2015. Duke said bitcoin is now in a third wave.
Duke expects the fourth wave will see bitcoin stay at 61.8% of the time the second wave lasted. This means the rally following the correction will begin in January.
Short-term traders are advised to wait until the correction runs its course and the short-term trend turns higher again, while long-term investors should prepare to add to their holdings heading towards the targets of the move, and buying opportunities emerge. This holds true for long-term investors who plan on holding on to the coins and adding to their core holdings on the dips. Short-term traders should still wait for the short-term trend to turn higher before buying.
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