Ether is now reporting year-to-date losses
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December 18, 2019




Ether (ETH), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is now reporting losses on a year-to-date basis. 

At press time, ETH is changing hands at $123, about 7 percent lower than where it started the year. 

The cryptocurrency is also flashing red on a month-to-date basis, as well as quarter-to-date, as noted by @CoinDeskMarkets. 

It's down nearly 66 percent from the 2019 high of $361 on June 26 and 91 percent lower than the record price of $1,431 reached in January 2018. 

The poor performance seen over the past six months roughly tracks bitcoin's decline over the period: Bitcoin is down 50 percent from yearly highs in June, compared with ether’s 66 percent slide. Even so, bitcoin is up more than 70 percent on a year-to-date basis.

Prominent analysts say the ethereum network’s persistent scalability issues have dented investor confidence. 

Due to the sharp slide, nearly 94 percent or 32.14 million ether addresses are in a loss position, according to blockchain intelligence firm IntoTheBlock.  

An address is said to be "out of the money" if the current price of ether is lower than the average price at which coins were acquired or sent to an address.

Just 5 percent or 1.76 million addresses are “in the money” - showing a profit - with the remainder “at the money.” 

  
Drop to 7-Month Lows Was Short-Lived

BTC: Price: $6,580 | Market cap: $120 billion | 24-Hr Volume: $25.45 billion

Short-term trend: Bearish

The path of least resistance is to the downside as the daily chart is suggesting a lower-highs setup and the three-day chart is signaling a convincing break below the widely-tracked 200-period average. 

Bitcoin, however, has recovered from seven-month lows near $6,430 to $6,700, confirming a bullish divergence of the RSI on the hourly chart. 

A bullish divergence occurs when an indicator forms higher lows, contradicting lower lows on price. It's considered a sign of seller exhaustion. Further, the RSI on the 4-hour chart is indicating oversold conditions. 

As a result, a corrective bounce to $6,800-$7,000 could be in the offing. That said, the short-term outlook would turn bullish if and when prices rise above $7,870, invalidating the lower-highs setup. 

Long-term trend: Neutral

Bitcoin's monthly MACD histogram has dropped below zero, signaling a bearish reversal. The cryptocurrency is trapped in a five-month bearish channel. 

Even so, the outlook remains neutral, as the MACD is a lagging indicator. The miner reward-halving, usually a bullish event, is due in May 2020. 

With BTC looking oversold after a 50 percent drop from June highs above $13,800, a notable recovery ahead of the supply-cutting event can’t be ruled out – more so, as the 50-week MA has crossed above the 100-week MA, confirming the first golden bull cross since May 2016. 

After all, the previous bull cross had marked the start of a long-term bull market. The cryptocurrency picked up a strong bid near $430 following the bull cross confirmation in May 2016 and charted its way to a record high around $20,000 in December 2017.

That said, the outlook as per the weekly chart would turn bullish only if and when prices break higher from the five-month long bearish channel. 

Read Analysis



Riding a Tsunami

WAVES: Price: $0.8246 | MCAP: $87.7 million | 24-Hr Volume: $21.4 million

Short-term trend: Overbought

Waves is riding high.

Currently up 6.1 percent on the day, the ambitious crypto has begun to pull back from $0.98 and is showing signs of buyer exhaustion, with signs on the daily RSI flashing overbought.

The speculation is likely due to an IDE and testing release on its mainnet, slated for Dec. 31.

Volume is up significantly and will be hard to match on the prior day's bars, so expect a sharp sell-off as savvy traders enter into a period of profit-taking.

Waves is a public blockchain network that enables users to create and access decentralized applications. It features on-chain governance, formal verification for smart contracts and a variation of proof-of-stake (PoS) called "leased PoS" to ensure network consensus.

Long-term trend: Cautiously bullish

A continuation in its price depends on whether or not it can hold a former region of resistance at around $0.82 and convert that into support in order to translate into a higher low continuation pattern.

Falling far below and closing out beneath that region would abort the long-term bullish view.


Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.

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