By Nathan Ferguson
Cryptos surge today after plunging amid a global market crash as the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated. Bitcoin gained 4% over the past day, exploring $38,596.6. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market cap climbed to $1.8 trillion, following a 2% increase within the past 24 hours (CoinGecko data).
BTC’s correlation to stocks strengthened as the leading crypto rebounded with other risk assets as Russia – Ukraine developments whipsawed investors. US markets bounced off in the United States afternoon session when Joe Biden announced sanctions on Russia.
For now, crypto-assets attempt recoveries, noting overnight gains. The second-largest coin by market value, Ethereum, gained 3% to hover at $2,672. Nevertheless, the original meme coin DOGE lost more than 3% to $0.12. Also, Shiba Inu plunged by 2% to hover near $0.000024.
Other altcoins saw mixed performance. Solana, Stellar, Avalanche, Terra, Polkadot, and Polygon traded with losses within the previous day while Litecoin saw surges.
BTC’s price fluctuations within the past weeks amid geopolitical tensions appear to undermine the notion that crypto is a hedge against troubled times. Remember, Gold rallied to its yearly high on Thursday.
Cryptocurrency price tumbled since hitting record peaks in 2021 November. The latest volatility emerged amid an overall market crash triggered by investors balancing their portfolios, awaiting for Fed’s aggressive move. Federal Reserve can raise interest rates as many times as possible in 2022 while fighting increasing inflation.
Technician’s View
Bitcoin saw extended losses as it broke beneath the intraday foothold at $36,500. For now, the currency seems to stabilize beyond $38,000. Resistance stands at $40K, while BTC’s massive support locates at $30K.
The daily chart shows downward exhaustion signs, similar to 24 January, which headed a 30% hike. However, the RSI might delay the possible price upsurge. That is because the indicator is yet to attain massively oversold conditions. Monthly and weekly charts have negative momentum signals. That means BTC can drop further. The coming two weeks are crucial in determining whether bulls can defend the support at $28K – $30K.
Upcoming developments from Russia and Ukraine will detect crypto prices at the moment. For now, market participants should avoid trade execution as the market remains uncertain.