BTC, ETH, and XRP breakdown in Tuesday’s Asian session amid concerns over a $70 million DeFi hack and ongoing SEC litigation. Monitor these important trading levels for further clues on price direction.
After trading mostly sideways on Monday, leading cryptocurrencies broke down from consolidation patterns during Tuesday’s Asian session amid ongoing concerns surrounding a $70 million exploit of decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Curve Finance. Sentiment also remained downbeat after the SEC launched charges against HEX founder, Richard Heart for allegedly misappropriating millions of dollars of investor funds.
From a macro standpoint, news last week that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) planned to let bond yields rise beyond previously set levels also weighed on early-week price action. Typically, Bitcoin has an inverse correlation to rising treasuries and bond volatility due to its sensitivity to global liquidity conditions.
Below, we take a closer look at key technical levels to watch in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple’s XRP (XRP).
After running into a wall of resistance at the 50-period simple moving average (SMA) and the top trendline of a descending triangle, Bitcoin’s price has continued to move lower, looking susceptible to further falls. Accentuated selling could see price move down and test the next level of key support just above the $28,000 level. Conversely, a reversal back above the triangle’s top trendline would raise the prospect of a bear trap. Such an event could trigger a short squeeze up towards the 200-period SMA which sits just above $30,000.
Ethereum’s price has staged a convincing breakdown below the lower trendline of a symmetrical triangle. Above-average volume accompanies the move, suggesting the bears have control of the action. Moreover, the relative strength index (RSI) flashes an oversold reading below 30, confirming the sharp selloff. Further weakness could see falls to the $1,755 level, where the price finds support from an established horizontal trendline. Alternatively, a reversal above the triangle’s top trendline and 50-period SMA could see a move to resistance at $1,915.
XRP continues to hold up better relative to its peers, with the bears unable to convincingly close price beneath the lower trendline of an established symmetrical triangle. Watch for an increase in volatility, given the price trades toward the triangle’s apex. In the case of a breakdown, look for a test of $0.6236 , where buyers should defend the 200-period SMA. Conversely, an upside breakout could see a return to the recent previous highs around $0.835.
Tim brings over 20 years’ of experience working at some of Wall Street’s biggest investment banks, including Goldman Sacks, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley.