The Bitcoin Bulls Hold On, While Bitcoin Cash Takes another Tumble

There were no fanfares for Bitcoin going into the weekend, with Bitcoin gaining just 0.19% on Saturday, following 2 consecutive days of losses, to end the day at $6,431.1, the minor upside reducing the week’s losses to just 0.94%.

Following a number of choppier days, Bitcoin fell back into its rut, with a particularly range bound day seeing Bitcoin move within a $55 range through the day, a start of a day intraday low $6,414.4 and early afternoon intraday high $6,469.3 leaving the day’s major support and resistance levels untested.

While the Bitcoin Cash fork has taken most of the market’s attention this week, Bitcoin Cash sliding from last Wednesday’s $646.8 high back to $550 levels, levels last reached back in the first week of September, there have been very few drivers for Bitcoin that has ultimately led to the return of the rut.

Through Friday and Saturday, the news wires remained silent on a the two main areas of interest for Bitcoin investors and the broader market, these being on the ETF and regulatory front, leaving side lined investors with little incentive to get back in and for Bitcoin holders to continue to sit tight with the hope that the SEC will deliver.

Outside of the Bitcoin family, Ripple’s XRP continued to steal the show, with Saturday’s relatively minor gain seeing Ripple’s XRP make its way towards a double digit gain for the week, which would add to the previous 4 weeks of gains, XRP’s last weekly loss being in the week ending 14^th October.

For the blockchain diehards, the slow and steady recovery in Ripple’s XRP, coming in the wake of the xRapid’s release, is a positive sign for the future of, not just Ripple’s XRP, but the broader market.

While some may consider the Bitcoin ETF as a key step in the evolution of Bitcoin and the broader market, blockchain adoption and supply and demand drivers outside of the mere day trading of the respective cryptocurrencies will be a must for the more viable altcoins to step out of the shadow of Bitcoin and grow.

There have been some early signals of such an advancement, with some degree of divergence across the crypto majors becoming evident, but we are still some way off and, when considering Bitcoin’s troubles as an alternative to fiat currency, perhaps the first step would be for Bitcoin to be knocked off its perch, all the less likely near-term should institutional money come flooding in through the ETF offerings currently under review.

For the Bitcoin bulls, holding onto $6,400 levels through the first half of the weekend would have provided little comfort, with Bitcoin Cash having found and provided much needed support to Bitcoin and the broader market on Saturday.

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At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down just 0.06% to $6,427 in the early hours, another range bound start to the day seeing Bitcoin rise to a morning high $6,444 before pulling back to a morning low $6,425, the day’s major support and resistance levels left untested early on.

For the day ahead, a hold onto $6,400 levels through the morning would support a run at the first major resistance level at $6,462.13, though we would expect Bitcoin to take its cues from Bitcoin Cash through the day, a continued fall in Bitcoin Cash likely to weigh on Bitcoin and the broader market through the day. We will expect $6,500 levels to be out of reach on the day, with the day’s second major resistance level at $6,493.17 likely to pin Bitcoin back, in the event of an afternoon rally.

Failure to hold onto $6,400 levels could see Bitcoin take a bigger hit later in the day, with a fall through the morning low $6,425 bringing the first major support level at $6,407.23 into play before any recovery, sub-$6,400 support levels unlikely to be tested on the day, barring dire news hitting the crypto wires.