In the past 24 hours, the crypto market added $3 billion to its valuation as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) performed relatively well against the U.S. dollar.
Several crypto assets in the likes of Litecoin, TRON, and Cardano recorded the largest gains on the day in the range of 6 to 12 percent.
Bitcoin Has Needs to Break Above $4,500
As the cryptocurrency market avoided a further drop below the $130 billion mark, Bitcoin defended the $3,800 level and stabilized at around $3,850.
According to a technical analyst with an online alias “DonAlt,” for the Bitcoin price to establish a foundation for a strong short-term rally, it will have to break out of major resistance levels above $4,500.
The analyst said:
Monthly: Still bearish, needs to break above $4,500 to even attempt a bullish recovery. Weekly: Rejected by weekly resistance but finally showing some bull momentum. I’d like to see us start closing above $4,300 before turning bullish.
Currently, despite the relatively stable past few weeks demonstrated by the majority of crypto assets, the market still remains down by around 43 percent from November levels.
To initiate a strong short-term rally, the cryptocurrency market would have to add more than $80 billion to its valuation, which is certainly possible if the Bitcoin price is able to sustain its momentum throughout the first two quarters of 2019.
Analysts generally expect cryptocurrencies to undergo the final phase of the year-long bear market prior to the end of the first quarter of this year as the asset class eyes a gradual recovery in the second quarter.
Crypto Still in Early Phase
Chris Burniske, a partner at Placeholder VC, said that the cryptocurrency sector is in the installation phase wherein builders are dominating the asset class and the mainstream is not heavily involved.
Until the asset class becomes more resilient and robust, it will continue to see a high level of volatility and wild price cycles.
He said:
But the mainstream? For most, crypto is still not relevant to their life. If they didn’t invest in 2017, they’ve forgotten. If they did, chances are they have a bad taste in their mouth and want to forget. I don’t say this to dishearten us. Quite the opposite. We remain in the installation phase of crypto where the primary users are developers & investors. There is so much left to build and promise to be realized, which is massively exciting.
With the emergence of custodial solutions and strictly regulated liquidity providers, the cryptocurrency market may see an inflow of institutional and high profile investors in 2019.
However, given the historical tendency of the asset class to initiate rallies based on cycles, some analysts expect cryptocurrencies to undergo a long-lasting consolidation period and demonstrate a high level of stability throughout 2019, as the bear market comes to an end.
Featured Image from Shutterstock. Price Charts from TradingView.
