The major coins are having another bullish day after a consolidation period with all of the top 10 cryptocurrencies sporting meaningful gains. Altcoins are leading the charge higher, as the switch in relative strength that we pointed out several times seems to be a lasting phenomenon, with the ETH/BTC pair confirming a short-term uptrend.

BTC/USD, 4-Hour Chart Analysis

Bitcoin is also up today, but while the majority of altcoins are trading on new rally highs, BTC is stuck below the prior swing high at $8400, which is also a previously established resistance level. The dominant declining trendline is also in that area, and that strong zone could hold back the largest coin for a longer period. A breakout would confirm a new rising short-term trend, with the next major resistance zone ahead between $9000 and $9200.

ETH/USD, 4-Hour Chart Analysis

Ethereum is among the strongest coins short-term, and with smaller cap altcoins also joining the rally, the whole segment could be ready for a move higher. That said, the broader declining trend is still intact with the coin trading in a strong resistance zone between $555 and $575. A new short-term uptrend is now confirmed but with the declining trendline just ahead, the coin could be in for volatile swings in the coming days. The next target zone is at $625, while support is found at $500 and $450.

Broad Altcoin Rally Lifts All Ships

XRP/USD, 4-Hour Chart Analysis

Ripple, which was among the weakest majors for a prolonged period is one of the leaders today, climbing above $0.75, and eyeing the next major level at $0.84, with tbe coin already being above the previously dominant declining trendline.

On a slightly negative note, correlations are still high between the majors, but there are standout performers despite the concerted rally. Among the long-term leaders, Litecoin is trading near $150, while Monero added to yesterday’s gains, and it’s testing the $240 resistance as we speak.

The early leaders of the rally are slightly lagging in the current short-term swing, but that is likely a sign of rotation, as the likes of EOS, NEO, and IOTA are also higher today, while holding up wrll above the correction lows.

With all of the majors on buy signals in our trend model, we expect the rally to continue even as strong resistance zones are ahead and the road will likely be bumpy after the steep and lengthy downswing.

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Disclaimer:  The analyst owns cryptocurrencies. He holds investment positions in the coins, but doesn’t engage in short-term or day-trading, nor does he hold short positions on any of the coins.

Important: Never invest (trade with) money you can't afford to comfortably lose. Always do your own research and due diligence before placing a trade. Read our Terms & Conditions here. Trade recommendations and analysis are written by our analysts which might have different opinions. Read my 6 Golden Steps to Financial Freedom here. Best regards, Jonas Borchgrevink.

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Mate Cser

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For the serious student of cryptocurrencies, IOTA is a name most likely you know well. However since only about 8% of Americans own any crypto, and then 80% of those folks own bitcoin, it’s time to get to know your neighbors.  

Ok, let’s start with a trick question.  Over the next 10-20 years, which technovation will have the greatest impact on society: cryptocurrencies, the Internet of Things (IoT) or Artificial Intelligence (AI)?  

The answer is: they will each be so big and so important that it really doesn’t matter.  As an investor you can go with anyone of these themes. But then, you might want to focus attention on IOTA. It could be like getting a techno triple play.  

This is not to suggest dumping your bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple or other major names. In an uncertain world, the big guys still carry a better risk profile.  But in today’s market, altcoins represent the most depressed values. Out of this group, IOTA offers investors participation in crypto, IoT and AI.

I do not own IOTA so objectivity isn’t being compromised.  Here are a few things about IOTA that stand out.

Ideal For High Volume Small Transactions

For all their benefits, single layer blockchains present a scaling nightmare to bitcoin and even so called second generation names like Ethereum.  Solutions like the Lightning Network and Raiden, when fully deployed sometime later this year, will help. But the ability to process 50,000 transactions a second is still a way off.

IOTA is specifically targeted for high volume transactions at near zero costs.  This makes a competitive stand against the ultra fast but high cost giants like Visa, MasterCard, etc. The secret is that IOTA doesn’t depend on a blockchain.  

Instead, developers have created something they call Tangle. IOTA is a blockchain free cryptocurrency.  Tangle is designed to remove the necessity of predetermined block times. Instead of many nodes confirming a transaction, the sender of the IOTA transaction must confirm two other transactions on the Tangle.

In other words, the entire time and energy intensive crypto mining process in sidetracked replacing it with a user verification process. To put it more simply, every user becomes a miner in the network.

This reduces cost to the point where IOTA transactions are near zero.  Compare this to a Visa or MasterCard debit card merchant service charge of 1.5% or a credit card fee of 2.9%-4%+ and there is no contest.

Is Tangle more secure than blockchain?  An honest answer is Tangle has not been tested enough to get enough data.  But if you accept that small transactions are less of a so called “attractive nuisance” than the size Bitcoin is best handling, then the effective security risk becomes tolerable.

IoT And AI: Real And Imagined

Small and even micro-transactions will be the measure of IOTA for the immediate future and there is nothing wrong with that.  After all we are talking about a multi trillion dollar global market. But this isn’t what crypto visionaries see as the end game.

Advocates of IOTA paint a glowing picture for the crypto in IoT and AI based on the near zero transaction cost and huge supply of the currency.  If things turn out this way, it means that IOTA is appealing to an entirely different segment than bitcoin, ether, Ripple or many altcoins.

By huge supply we are talking about each traded IOTA quoted in MIOTA or a million units. Total supply is defined as one Petalota. That equals 10 IOTA to the 15th power. If you prefer real numbers, the total supply is 2,779,530,283,277,761. Try saying that number quickly. Certainly the founders of IOTA had such a global vision when they decided to create such a massive supply.

Supply/Demand and Pricing

The one thing about the IOTA story is how can this massive supply benefit investors. It seems counter intuitive.  But I must be too dim witted to appreciate this because back in December before prices tumbled, the public valued IOTA at nearly $15 billion. Since then, like all cryptos, IOTA dropped more than 80% to around $2.6 billion. So did the end of the so called crypto bubble sour investors.  Not at all. Since the April 10th low, the price has jumped 70% to $4.7 billion or about $1.68 per MIOTA.

As we said at the start, long time IOTA watchers will find nothing surprising.  But for the majority, you will want to keep an eye on IOTA; it is not just another altcoin. And it’s price is still less than one-third of last December.  

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Important: Never invest (trade with) money you can't afford to comfortably lose. Always do your own research and due diligence before placing a trade. Read our Terms & Conditions here. Trade recommendations and analysis are written by our analysts which might have different opinions. Read my 6 Golden Steps to Financial Freedom here. Best regards, Jonas Borchgrevink.

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James Waggoner

4.3 stars on average, based on 59 rated postsJames Waggoner is a veteran Wall Street analyst and hedge fund manager who has spent the past few years researching the fintech possibilities of cryptocurrencies. He has a special passion for writing about the future of crypto.

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The value of bitcoin cash rose sharply on Wednesday, as momentum returned to the altcoin following a two-month downtrend.

BCH/USD Price Levels

Bitcoin cash jumped nearly 16% on Wednesday, outpacing bitcoin and the rest of the major altcoins. In doing so, prices came to within a few dollars of $900.

At the time of writing, BCH/USD was trading at $883.53 for a total market cap of $14.9 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. That puts BCH comfortably in fourth spot on the cryptocurrency leader board when measured by market cap.

By comparison, the cryptocurrency market as a whole added 5.2% on Wednesday to $342 billion. The total market has now gained more than 37% over the past week, a strong sign that the bear market had ended.

BCH generated trade volumes of $611 million on Wednesday, which is roughly 3.3% of the total market. Digital currency exchange OKEx generated 14% of the daily volume, followed by Huobi (10%) and HitBTC (9%).

Investors tracking the coin’s bullish reversal are keeping close watch of the psychological $1,000 level. The cryptocurrency has generated strong support in the low $800s, with immediate resistance located between $890 and $900.

Bitcoin Cash: Undervalued?

While there was no immediate catalyst for BCH’s oversized gains, some analysts believe that a larger breakout is looming as volatility and trading volumes continue to grow. Bitcoin cash also has the perception of being undervalued, even in light of the recent price recovery. Traders looking to buy the dip still have plenty of opportunity with prices still down a full 78% from the December record.

Bitcoin cash has had prolonged periods of hot-and-cold since it was conceived last August. Prices generally trailed the broader cryptocurrency market until November when the backers of Segwit2x failed to activate their hard fork. The fork was cancelled after its backers were unable to form consensus on the upgrade. The market’s response saw BCH diverge sharply with the original bitcoin, with the former reporting huge gains and the latter equally large percentage losses.

BCH recorded multiple record highs in December after Coinbase announced it was offering trading of the cryptocurrency alongside bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. However, the launch was shrouded in controversy amid reports of insider trading at Coinbase. As of last month, the company was battling a class action lawsuit over those claims.

Disclaimer: The author owns bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. He holds investment positions in the coins, but does not engage in short-term or day-trading.

Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock. 

Important: Never invest (trade with) money you can't afford to comfortably lose. Always do your own research and due diligence before placing a trade. Read our Terms & Conditions here. Trade recommendations and analysis are written by our analysts which might have different opinions. Read my 6 Golden Steps to Financial Freedom here. Best regards, Jonas Borchgrevink.

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Sam Bourgi

4.5 stars on average, based on 332 rated postsSam Bourgi is Chief Editor to Hacked.com, where he specializes in cryptocurrency, economics and the broader financial markets. Sam has nearly eight years of progressive experience as an analyst, writer and financial market commentator where he has contributed to the world's foremost newscasts.

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