With the holidays coming around, many people are looking to purchase gifts, so some holiday cash is needed. The price slump Bitcoin and most of the cryptocurrency spectrum is experiencing right now should be temporary and was foreseen. History tends to repeat itself, so predicting trends are relatively easy.
People always want extra cash around this time, so liquidation of assets is a popular choice. The only thing different this year is that Bitcoin is now a said asset for many people. Especially since Microsoft started accepting Bitcoin as payment, people are using their Bitcoin to purchase Microsoft digital goods which are always a popular want yearly.
Just looking at the trading activity of Bitcoin in the last five days shows significantly more red candlesticks (which indicate selling activity) than green (which show purchasing activity). This trend is, of course, causing a price decline, from the last week price range of $365-$375.
Not surprisingly the only coin that is still consistently on an upward trend is of course Ripple, up nearly 20% this week.
While I suspect something over at CMC is causing the graphs to not properly display, the data is still correct with Ripple approaching 5k Satoshis on the exchanges, or around 1.7 cents per Ripple. Increasing the market capitalization to $527 million dollars, Ripple is now 1/9th of Bitcoins, with a volume that is 1/11th of Bitcoins as well.
As for now it seems like organic growth, I will be extremely surprised if there’s not a correction or price decrease in Ripple in the following weeks. I saw it with countless cryptocurrencies, Darkcoin with its rise to $15 and Auroracoin with its rise to 0.08 BTC, during a time where Bitcoin was around $800. The cryptocurrency increases in value, usually rapidly. As price increases, people sell to cash out which is what starts the price decrease.
While I’m not saying the same will happen to Ripple to the same degree, traders dealing with Ripple should be anticipating an upcoming sell off. Depending on how this selloff goes, it may be time to sell out and walk away, or take position and leverage the volatility.
With most cryptocurencies down, I’d be especially cautious with trading around this time. You never know if the coin that’s going down may bounce back or not, so it’s a risky call. Even the cryptocurrencies that are more stable such as Bitoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin are down this week, with Bitcoin down 7% alone. Expect more sideway and even downward trends as the holidays approach, and always keep a cool head. Next week should be even more interesting with the 25th, Christmas Day, upcoming.
What do you think the holidays and the New Year will mean for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies?
Photo Sources: CMC and Bitcoin Graph