Ethereum Hits New ATH, as Bitcoin Fails to Clear $59,000

Even as the BTC/USD pair keeps stalling, the ETH/USD pair has been able to keep the crypto speculators watching. Fund managers will find it difficult to ignore the top two cryptocurrencies as their market caps surpass popular Wall Street names. This could continue to attract fresh money into the crypto sector and boost prices higher.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

The pair bounced off from its 20-day EMA line as the bears pulled the trend under with dreams of pushing close to or past $64,849, but the bears were successful in their quest on May 4th. From the looks of it, the rebound from the EMA line wasn’t enough to keep traders from panic selling. However, the price dip should also inspire bulls to buy more. This correction could be extended to $50,460 where it could remain range-bound for days. Owing to their weak resistance, the bulls will want to display strength at current levels to push the pieces back up. If they can get to $55,239 then they can surpass the 20-day EMA ($55,568) and probably retest $60,000.

Indicators

RSI is at 46.62 and facing upwards. This is an indication that a good number of traders are still buying on the dip and hoping to force a rebound. MACD histogram is still in the positive area while both moving averages on the MACD look to be diverging

ETH/USD

The ETH/USD pair has been trading inside what looked like an ever ascending channel until May 4th, when the bears naturally corrected the pair down from its new ATH of $3,519.55. The correction doesn’t seem to be causing so much nuisance for the bullish trend besides stalling it as the pair was quickly seen trading at $3,422 within 10 hours.

Currently at $3,373.51 at the time of writing, the pair is well above 20-day EMA and should be looking to continue the upward trend but will most likely find it harder to go past $3,457.64 than to create a new ATH. The price drop gave the pair its first red candlestick after 9-days.

The bulls pushed the price above the resistance line of the channel on May 1, resulting in a pick-up in momentum. The resulting rally didn’t just affect the price, but also shot the market cap above $381 billion. Already the 2nd largest crypto by market capitalization, Ether also became the 24th largest asset in the world, over Mastercard, NVIDIA, Walt Disney, and Home Depot, according to data from Infinite Market Cap.

ETH/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

The two moving averages are keeping an up-sloping line to indicate that the bulls are still on top. However, the RSI reading shows that the pair is being overbought and is in danger of getting corrected mildly. If the bulls are strong enough to stop the pair from re-entering the channel then it means a great deal of buying is going on. On the contrary, if the bears can retake the reins with similar momentum then the price could sink below $2,850 and retest 20-day EMA at $2,731.

Indicators

The RSI line is flat around 72. It already came down from 82.45 but may experience a little more correction as it is still above the safe zone. MACD is staying positive and convergent. The bulls still have more control.

XRP/USD

The XRP/USD pair was turned down from heights of $1.66 on May 2nd, where it resisted weakly and was dragged to $1.32 where the bulls are currently resisting a dip below 20-day EMA. Continued indecision among the bulls and the bears could result in a Doji candlestick and this time around sentiment should favour bulls with the 20-day exponential moving average acting as support. If it doesn’t then the correction may continue below 20-day EMA ($1.37)

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

If the pair rejects the correction at this point, close to the 20-day EMA, it means that the bulls are doing a good job buying on the dips and this may take the price above $1.66 and possibly past the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement ($1.73) to retouch the 52-week high at $1.96. The marginally rising 20-day EMA and the RSI near 53 indicate the bulls have the upper hand. This positive projection will invalidate if the pair breaks the 20-day EMA support. Such a move will suggest that more traders are still dumping their positions and this could pull the price down to the 50-day SMA ($1.13).

Indicators

RSI is in a healthy zone. At 53, getting overbought is the least worry for a few days at least. MACD histogram is negative and fluctuating. The MACD moving averages are also looking divergent in the short term here.

LTC/USD

After a mild correction that lasted only on May 2nd, the pair continued its upward trend and hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down as it got to $341.40, surpassing its former 52-week high ($335) in the early hours of today. The quick recovery implies that the sentiment remains bullish and the bulls are buying on every minor dip as the long candlestick tail on May 4th shows. The bulls were able to keep the positive projections after they pushed the price above the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $307.58

LTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

The gradually upsloping 20-day EMA ($257) and the RSI at 71 suggest that demand exceeds supply, and any longshot by bulls while drifting in the overbought section will likely be replied with a minor correction. This positive projection may be rejected at $341.40 and sent below 20-day EMA as the bears would love to show a bit of resistance to the climb. Such a move will suggest that traders are closing their positions on relief rallies. That could result in a drop to the 50-day SMA ($243.70).

Indicators

RSI has encroached in the overbought area and kept an upward trend which could work against the bulls if they continue buying massively. MACD shows that sentiment will likely favour the bulls having an upper hand.

BCH/USD

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) turned down from the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at $1,012.29 on May 1st but the correction was short-lived as the bulls purchased the dip on May 2nd causing it to rise to $1,049 on May 3rd, only to close at $950.88 on May 4th. This suggests strong demand at lower levels, but the bears are doing a good job with resistance.

BCH/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

The long wick on yesterday’s candlestick suggests that the bears kept selling for even on rallies above $1,014. If the price turns down from the current level and breaks below $932.74 then the pair may drop closer to the 20-day EMA ($907.71). A break below this level will suggest the bullish momentum has weakened and that will open the doors for a possible drop to the 50-day SMA ($779.50).

On the contrary, if the bulls succeed in sustaining the price at the current level, the BCH/USD pair could rise to $1,100.78 and then retest the 52-week high ($1,213.51) again. The rising moving averages and the RSI above 63, indicate the path of least resistance is to the upside.

Indicators

RSI is at 63 which is well within the safe zone. It quickly turned an upward direction after falling a bit to indicate that the bulls are buying on the dip. MACD histogram is trying to stay in the positive section. From current indications the bulls are slightly advantaged, but for how long?

Correlation

BTC/ETH : 0.83, BTC/XRP : 0.77, BTC/LTC : 0.78, BTC/BCH : 0.78

The pairs are having more positive numbers than a few days ago. The strongest performer among our five picks for the last 24-hours is Litecoin, but the week belongs to Ether. This strong performance in Ether has also brought back murmurs of Ethereum flippening Bitcoin. However, Ether has a lot of work to do in catching up if it wants to flip Bitcoin because its market dominance currently at 16.4%, while that of Bitcoin is at 47%. Still, the rise of Ether is positive for the crypto sector because it is likely to attract the attention of institutional investors. Ripple is having the worst 24-hours on the list with a loss of -3.4% at the time of writing. Litecoin is keeping an upward facing trend in the midst of everything while Bitcoin Cash is struggling to keep up.

Key Notes

• Bitcoin is currently at $54,627.85 and trying to turn resistance to support
• Ether is having a great week after hitting yet another All-Time High.
• Ripple is at $1.43 and trying to resist and rebound above the 20-day EMA.
• Litecoin is enjoying a bullish rally that will most likely make a new All-Time High