Ethereum, Bitcoin Prices Dip in Minor Market Pullback
The crypto market recovery stalled on Wednesday with the vast majority of coins posting minor pullbacks. The ethereum and bitcoin prices were at the head of the retreat, leaving neither able to hold above the major threshold it targeted yesterday.
It is likely that the markets are just cooling off following their ~$35 billion recovery from last week’s lows. That said, fears remain that the Chinese government will order miners to shut down their operations–putting roughly 65% of the bitcoin network hashrate in jeopardy–but many industry observers believe Japanese companies will quickly fill the void. This is evidenced by the fact that the Tokyo-based bitFlyer has seen a surge in trading volume since Chinese bitcoin exchange ceased accepting CNY deposits. Others, including MGT Capital’s John McAfee, do not believe there will be a ban on mining.
Amid this uncertainty, the total cryptocurrency market cap ended the day in decline. After beginning the day at $135.5 billion, the total crypto market cap rose as high as $139 billion Tuesday evening but then reversed course and began to skid. After briefly falling to $133 billion, the combined value of all cryptocurrencies now sits at $134.8 billion, representing a 24-hour decline of about $700 million.
Bitcoin Price Seeks $4,000 Support
Once again, the bitcoin price successfully made a run across the $4,000 threshold. However, it has thus far been able to find the support necessary to hold above that mark. Ultimately, the bitcoin price dropped back down to $3,914–a daily decline of 2%. This gives bitcoin a market cap of $64.9 billion.
Ethereum Price
Like bitcoin, the ethereum price experienced a minor daily decline. After entering the day at $286, the ethereum price spent most of the day attempting to tread water. Wednesday morning, it temporarily dropped below the $280 level, but it has since recovered to a present value of $282. This translates into a $26.7 billion market cap–a 24-hour pullback of about 1%.
Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin cash was the only top 10 cryptocurrency to make a significant gain on Wednesday. The bitcoin cash price actually assembled quite a rally, climbing as high as $550 leading into Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, it could not sustain this momentum, and it has since pulled back to $488. Nevertheless, this represents a 24-hour gain of 4%, which leads all top 25 coins. Bitcoin cash now has a market cap of $8.1 billion.
This advance has helped make bitcoin cash about 10% more profitable to mine than the main blockchain, according to data from Coin Dance .
Altcoins Follow the Current
The altcoin markets followed the prevailing current, leading most coins into a slight decline. The Ripple price declined about 1%, while litecoin dipped 3% to $52. Dash managed to post a gain of about one-half of a percent, bringing its market cap close to $2.5 billion.
NEM and IOTA each declined about 3%, while Monero and ethereum classic rounded out the top 10 with 2% declines.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
