Bitcoin’s technical health is increasing at odds with price, as hash rate and market cap continue growing exponentially.
Bitcoin (BTC) price climbed back above $9,500 on Aug. 30 as the largest cryptocurrency continued to grapple with the fallout of this week’s sudden losses.
Market visualization. Source: Coin360
Bitcoin traders brace for return to $8Ks
Data from Coin360 showed BTC/USD staging a modest recovery on Friday, reaching daily highs of $9,590.
Markets had slid dramatically a day previously, dropping from $10,200 to hit a local low of just $9,350 hours later.
At press time, moderate volatility remained, Bitcoin circling $9,550 against a considerable sell wall on major exchanges.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360
For the short term, regulator analyst Josh Rager warned, a fresh price breakdown at current levels would send Bitcoin price to an area around $8,700.
“After that, it heads towards $8k but everyone is watching it so either it bounces before or goes through,” he wrote in his latest Twitter update. He added:
“Needs to break back above $10,100 to get bullish.”
Despite price woes, Bitcoin continues to exhibit highly bullish technical fundamentals. This week, Bitcoin network hash rate set a new record, while its share of the overall cryptocurrency market cap rose above 70% for the first time since mid-March 2017.
Hash rate, as Cointelegraph reported, has achieved personal bests throughout 2019. The metric refers to the overall computing power securing and verifying transactions on the Bitcoin network.
Altcoins seize chance to stem losses
Altcoin markets meanwhile faced a day of modest recovery after hemorrhaging value during Bitcoin’s sell-off.
Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin by market cap, rose 0.8% to cling to $170, while XRP and EOS (EOS) gained around 2%.
Bitcoin SV (BSV) was the surprise champion in the top twenty, delivering 5.2% daily gains.
Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360
According to Max Keiser, however, Bitcoin’s market cap share should soon reach 85% once again at altcoins’ expense. In a tweet on Friday, the RT host also repeated previous claims that ETH/USD was due to halve in value from $170 to just $90.
At press time, the overall crypto market cap stood at $248 billion.
Source: Cointelegraph https://cointelegraph.com/