In today’s bitcoin and cryptocurrency news, learn about after Fed Chair Powell dashed investors’ hopes of a trend change following a strong CPI data, bullish crypto momentum evaporated. In addition, during the early hours of December 17th, major cryptocurrencies traded in the red as the total market cap for all cryptocurrencies fell 6.11 percent to $797.45 billion. The 24-hour volume of all cryptocurrencies is $47.36 billion, a rise of 38.50 percent from the previous day. Finally, Crypto values are always weak in the last weeks of the year, and 2022 is no exception. Most cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), and Solana (SOL), fell, while Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) held steady. Ripple (XRP) was among the top five losers today, falling nearly 3%. The greatest 24-hour gainer was Toncoin (TON), up over 6%.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Handed Up Their Gains, but Has Anything Changed

Original Source: Bitcoin and Ethereum gave back their gains, but has anything actually changed?

Bullish crypto momentum evaporated as Fed Chair Powell dashed investors’ hopes that a favorable CPI data would shift the trend, although higher time horizons remain appealing.

This week, crypto markets rallied into resistance on a “good” Consumer Price Index (CPI) data before erasing most of those gains after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s post-rate-hike presser.

Most market investors expected the Fed to boost rates by 0.50%, but the Federal Open Market Committee’s agreement that rates needed to reach the 5%–5.5%+ range to accomplish the Fed’s 2% inflation objective was surprising.

This dampened optimism in crypto and equity markets and dashed traders’ hopes of a Fed policy turnaround in the first half of 2023.

On smaller time periods, BTC and ETH price movement and market structure are similarly similar.

Yes, terrible news caused markets to retreat, but has anything “changed?” Ether and Bitcoin are moving in a distinct range, and neither asset has struck new annual lows recently.

When in doubt, zoom out. So let’s do it short and look at the landscape.

When in doubt, zoom out!

Bitcoin remains in a bullish falling wedge on the weekly period. Technical analysis suggests the price is acting as expected.

Resistance is likely at the 20-MA, which is aligned with the falling trendline. The volume profile measure reveals most activity in the $18,000–$22,500 region, and the falling wedge’s bottom arm has supported it.

Price activity was similar in May–July 2021, although the circumstances were different. RSI and MACD diverge. In summary, the price is heading down while MACD and RSI are trending up on the weekly timescale.

I favor the weekly period because candles build slowly and trends, whether bullish or bearish, are easier to call and confirm. It’s quicker to construct a weekly investing thesis than spend hours poring over four-hour, one-hour, and daily charts.

Breakouts from the falling wedge are expected to be contained by the descending trendline, but a breakdown of the pattern or drop below the lower support may plunge the price as low as $11,400. Analysts agree on that.

As I discussed in last week’s Substack and newsletter, Ether is continuing bouncing between support and resistance and seeing breakouts halted by key moving averages and its bull flag’s descending trendline.

Most experts still expect $2,000, so a drop to $1,100 isn’t surprising.

A drop under $1,000 may draw attention from those seeking more resolute shorts.

Like Bitcoin, Ether price behavior is predictable: nothing to see here, keep to the plan (whatever that might be for you). Like BTC, Ether’s MACD and RSI diverge.

Updating Litecoin

Litecoin LTC tickers dropped $65.01 last week.

owing to its planned network reward reduction. The GMMA indicator is still bright green on the daily timescale, even if the price has retraced from its local peak at $85.

The vertical black lines show LTC’s strong momentum before halvings and its post-halving corrections. Everything appears to be on track for now.

No financial advice here. Before trading, you should investigate, measure risk, consider worst-case scenarios, weigh ROIs, take profits, and set cut losses zones. Remember that 1:3 and 1:5 have the best risk-to-reward ratio.

Disregard short-term FUD and price activity. From there, construct a solid thesis.

Major Cryptocurrencies Are in the Red; Ether is Down 6% and Cardano is the Worst Performer

Original Source: Top Cryptocurrency Prices Today December 17: Major cryptos in red; Ether down 6%, Cardano top laggard

The global crypto market value fell 6.11 percent to $797.45 billion on December 17, sending major cryptocurrencies into the red. The 24-hour crypto market volume is $47.36 billion, up 38.50%.

DeFi has $2.67 billion in 24-hour volume, 5.63 percent of the crypto market. Stable currencies account for 91.92 percent of crypto market 24-hour volume at $43.54 billion.

According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin’s price was Rs 14.65 lakh, with a dominance of 40.17 percent, up 0.74 percent from the day before.

Hong Kong’s first bitcoin and ether futures exchange traded funds (ETFs) concluded their first trading day higher on Friday, showing investors’ enthusiasm despite the crypto market crisis.

Both ETFs opened at HK$7.77, their anticipated net asset values. The bitcoin futures ETF traded 937,200 units for HK$7.3 million, higher than the other.

As Bitcoin and Ethereum Fail to Show Signs of Life, the Market is in a Funk

Original Source: Cryptocurrency Price Today: Market Faces Doldrums As Bitcoin, Ethereum Fail To Show Signs Of Life

Cryptocurrency values normally drop in the last few weeks of the year, and 2022 seems to be no exception. Leading cryptocurrencies including Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), and Solana (SOL) fell while Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) remained flat. Ripple (XRP) dropped almost 3% today, placing it among the top five losers. With a 24-hour rise of almost 6%, Toncoin (TON) was the largest gainer.

The worldwide crypto market valuation was $806.71 billion at the time of writing, down 0.35 percent from the previous day.

Bitcoin (BTC) price today

Bitcoin price stood at $16,696.75, seeing a 24-hour dip of 0.33 percent, as per CoinMarketCap. According to Indian exchange WazirX, BTC price stood at Rs 14.50 lakhs.

Ethereum (ETH) price today

ETH price stood at $1,180.97, marking a 24-hour plunge of 0.77 percent at the time of writing. As per WazirX, Ethereum price in India stood at Rs 1.02 lakhs.

Dogecoin (DOGE) price today

DOGE registered a 24-hour dip of 2.39 percent as per CoinMarketCap data, currently priced at $0.07771. As per WazirX, Dogecoin price in India stood at Rs 6.94.

Litecoin (LTC) price today

Litecoin saw a 24-hour loss of 3.39 percent. At the time of writing, it was trading at $62.82. LTC price in India stood at Rs 5,450.

Ripple (XRP) price today

XRP price stood at $0.3422, seeing a 24-hour dip of 3.14 percent. As per WazirX, Ripple price stood at Rs 29.43.

Solana (SOL) price today

Solana price stood at $12.26, marking a 24-hour loss of 1.82 percent. As per WazirX, SOL price in India stood at Rs 1,100. 

Top crypto gainers today (December 19)

As per CoinMarketCap data, here are the top five crypto gainers over the past 24 hours:

Toncoin (TON)

Price: $2.69

24-hour gain: 6.29 percent

XDC Network (XDC)

Price: $0.02444

24-hour gain: 4.66 percent

UNUS SED LEO (LEO)

Price: $4.12

24-hour gain: 3.71 percent

Zcash (ZEC)

Price: $44.25

24-hour gain: 3.21 percent

Pancake Swap (CAKE)

Price: $3.44

24-hour gain: 2.26 percent

Top crypto losers today (December 19)

As per CoinMarketCap data, here are the top five crypto losers over the past 24 hours:

Filecoin (FIL)

Price: $2.99

24-hour loss: 4.97 percent

GMX (GMX)

Price: $45.46

24-hour loss: 4.61 percent

Algorand (ALGO)

Price: $0.187

24-hour loss: 3.50 percent

Ripple (XRP)

Price: $0.3413

24-hour loss: 3.33 percent

Stacks (STX)

Price: $0.2288

24-hour loss: 3.28 percent

How crypto exchanges view the market

“During the weekend, Bitcoin continued to oscillate without any notable change, with minimal trading volume signaling that bulls are now weak,” Mudrex co-founder and CEO Edul Patel told ABP Live. At current levels, bulls are weak. Last week, BTC fell 1%. Bulls must rise above $16,800 to reclaim control. However, Bitcoin has not yet garnered enough power to make a quick reversal.

“In his last statement, the US Fed president has highlighted that tightening of monetary policy may continue through 2023 to deal with increasing inflation,” stated BuyUCoin CEO Shivam Thakral. Investors will avoid riskier assets due to the central banks’ hawkishness. As the Christmas season approaches, investor activity may reduce, but Bitcoin is staying over $16,000. “Binance developments are widely watched by investors.”

Summary of today’s bitcoin and cryptocurrency news

To sum it up, Bitcoin is continuing to oscillate within a falling wedge, a traditional technical analysis pattern with bullish overtones, as seen on the weekly time frame. Within the bounds of technical analysis, the price action is quite predictable.

In addition, according to CoinMarketCap, the price of Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, was about Rs 14.65 lakh, with a dominance of 40.17 percent, up 0.74 percent from the day before.

Finally, Edul Patel, co-founder and CEO of Mudrex, told ABP Live, “During the weekend, Bitcoin continued to move without any notable change, with minimal trade volume signaling that bulls are now weak.” Because of this, it’s clear that bulls don’t have much support at the moment. In the previous week, BTC lost 1% of its value. The bulls need to push the price back up above $16,800 to retake the upper hand. There is little hope for a quick recovery, though, because Bitcoin is still too weak.