As we approach the Christmas holiday, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) have become more volatile, indicating that the crypto market is still looking for its bottom floor.
Last Wednesday, the crypto market value increased to $885 billion, and Bitcoin (BTC), the largest digital currency, surpassed $18,000 for the first time in more than a month. While Ether (ETH) experienced a similar situation, reaching a more-than-one-month high of more than $1,350 on Wednesday.
At the time of writing, the total crypto market cap value is around $810 billion, and the current trading price of bitcoin and Ether is $16,767 and $1,185, respectively.
Price Movement of Cryptocurrency
The overall price of bitcoin (BTC) falls impulsively after a significant rejection from a long-standing resistance level of $18k. Bitcoin (BTC) was trading between $16,900 and $18,270 last week before falling below the $17,000 level on Friday. Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at $16,776 at the time of writing, remaining above the $16,000 mark over the last few days.
Source: Coinmarketcap.com, December 19, 2022.
Last Monday, Ether (ETH) was trading between $1,250 and $1,350 on Wednesday before falling to $1,200. At the time of writing, Ether (ETH) is trading at $1,185. The next step is to be concerned about the current market structure, which would be bearish with lower highs and could lead to a lower low.
Source: Coinmarketcap.com, December 19, 2022.
XRP also had a tough week with decreasing volume and a falling price. The market hope is for XRP to recover in the new year. At the time of writing, XRP (XRP) is currently trading at $0.3444, ranking 7th in the market and accounting for 2.13% of the total crypto market.
Source: Coinmarketcap.com, December 19, 2022.
Macro Perspective
Last week, after the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), raised interest rates by 0.5 basis points on December 14, and the following day, on December 15, The European Central Bank (ECB), the central bank of the 19 nations that share the euro currency, opted for a smaller rate hike and raised the by 0.5 basis points in line with the US. The crypto market value, Bitcoin and Ether prices rose shortly and then declined.
Even though the interest rate increased by less than 0.75 basis points for the first time since May, and signs of relief, such as slower price increases due to less aggressive interest rate hikes and lower energy prices, the investors still appear to be cautious.
According to U.today.com, Bitcoin briefly reached $18,000 as traders began to pay attention to cryptocurrency-related stocks, with Coinbase (COIN) up nearly 7% in pre-market trading and MicroStrategy (MSTR) up 5%.
According to CNBC, U.S. Labor Department data published on December 13, the annual inflation rate for the United States is 7.1% for the 12 months ended November 2022, after rising 7.7% previously.
Despite the positive signs, the crypto market has continued to fall. The inflation rate has improved positively, but the number still needs to be closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Investors are still waiting for companies’ profitability reports in the coming weeks.
Furthermore, market sentiment remains low as investors continue to monitor the crypto industry scandals and the ongoing supply chain issues, and the war in Ukraine still needs to be resolved.
Crypto Market Summary
To summarize the past 7 day’s coin performances, Bitcoin (BTC) has lost 2.04%, Ether (ETH) has lost about 6.33%, and XRP showed a significant loss of about 9.91%. The lack of trading volume in the crypto markets is the most significant contributing factor to the lower volatility of the crypto markets.
Source: Coin360.com, December 19, 2022,
Disclaimer: Please note that this is not trading advice, and we recommend you carry out your research before making any trading decisions. This article is for informational purposes only.
