Bitcoin retreats, but interest in meta-currencies and ether persists

The cryptocurrency market remains in a state of apprehension, although the degree of it continues to weaken, as reflected in the rise in the relevant index from 33 yesterday to 40. The overall capitalisation of the cryptocurrency market, according to CoinMarketCap estimates, has fallen by 0.7% in the past 24 hours. However, the situation in the financial markets is firmly tied to the news of a new strain and therefore things could change very quickly. The main pressure during the last 24 hours was in the last hours, so it is worth being prepared for higher volatility later in the day. Fear in the financial markets, if entrenched, promises to seriously push down the price of bitcoin and ether, and through them spread negativity across the entire cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin is currently clinging to $56K. At 5% below, at 54 there is a signal support level, the capture of which could signal an acceleration of the sell-off. The opposite is also true, at 5% above the current price, at 59 lies an area of local highs. An ability to consolidate above this level would indicate strong buying demand.

Despite Bitcoin's weak performance, which has been hovering around current levels for the past week and a half, the Ether remains up-trending. It has added 1.5% in the last 24 hours and over 6% in the last seven days. On the intraday charts, there is still a buying trend on the downtrends.

In our view, this looks like a good trend. Bitcoin is often seen to preserve capital, while Ether and several other coins are working projects. In recent weeks, there has been an influx of interest in meta-currency projects, as crypto enthusiasts see a real business model behind them. All of this is bringing the crypto market closer to the stock market, only taking it to a new, less centralised, and regulated level. Everyone has their answer for good or bad. But it is almost certainly temporary.