The total crypto market cap is $31 billion up for the seven-day period and now stands at $211.6 billion. The top 10 currencies are all in green for the same time frame with Binance Coin (BNB) being the only exception with a 5.7 percent loss. Bitcoin (BTC) is the biggest gainer with 22.7 percent of price increase. At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $7,021 while ether (ETH) stands at $188. Ripple’s XRP is at $0.321.
BTC/USD
Bitcoin was one of the best, if not the best performer in the last few weeks, being a driving force pushing the whole crypto market up.
On May 6, the coin closed with a small loss to $5,682. Bulls, however, successfully defended the $5,600-$5,660 zone and did not allow further decline below these levels. On the next day, May 7, they returned to winning ways and closed the day at $5,750.
The door was opened for an attack towards $6,000 and on May 8 the BTC/USD found itself at $5,944. On May 9, it broke above $6,000 for the first time since November 14, 2018 and ended the session at $6,157 or 3.5 percent higher.
The most popular cryptocurrency was unstoppable and moved even higher on May 10, closing the workweek at $6,343.
Technical analysis was pointing to a correction or a temporary reversal near $6,700 before $7,000. On May 11, however, the BTC stormed pass these levels and closed at $7,228. It added more than 14 percent in just one session.
The $7,350 level proofed to be a solid resistance line in the past, so naturally, it was expected to be the next serious test for Bitcoin.
On May 12, the BTC/USD peaked $7,582, but eventually closed at $6,972, still with a 22.5 percent increase for the week.
Yet another cryptocurrency-based exchange traded fund (ETF) was sent to the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approval. The so-called USCF Crescent Crypto Index Fund (“XBET”) will be used “to track the performance of a market capitalization weighted portfolio of Bitcoin and Ether” as per the officially filled application by Crescent Crypto Index Services LLC. The principal U.S. Listing Exchange for the XBET will be the NYSE Arca, Inc.
No crypto-related ETF has been approved by US regulators so far as they keep delaying the final decision on the Bitwise/NYSE Arca and VanEck/SolidX products.
ETH/USD
The Ethereum Project token gained 6.2 percent of value and moved up to $171 on May 6, successfully surpassing the important $170 mark. On May 7, bull traders were able to push the price up to $180, but could not hold their ground and closed the day with a loss to $166.
Although it was seeing red from time to time, ETH was performing well in the last ten days. It climbed to $169 and then to $170 on May 8 and May 9 respectively. It formed its third consecutive green candle on the Bitstamp daily chart on May 10 and ended the session at $172.
The ETH/USD broke above $180 and $190 on May 11 and after a solid day, during which it added the amazing 11.6 percent to its value, it closed at $192. Buyers even managed to drive the price up to $207 during the day session – a level last seen on November 13, 2018.
The pair ended the 7-day period with a red candle to $188 on Sunday and a 16 percent increase.
The long-awaited Ethereum 2.0 Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain testnet went live on May 7. This was announced by Preston Van Loon, from Prysmatic Labs, the company working on the sharding and PoS solution for the Ethereum blockchain.
The testnet does not support smart contracts for the moment, but it will be used to analyze security and scaling improvements for the upcoming mainnet. The latest, however, is not expected earlier than 2021. The core concept of the PoS mechanism will be the so-called shards, or parallel channels, very similar to the Bitcoin Lightning node, where transactions will be processed simultaneously to help solve the blockchain scalability problem.
XRP/USD
The Ripple company token closed session on May 6 at $0.299 and even though it was trading as high as $0.305 during the day, it was not able to close above the important level of $0.30. The coin is not able to find its direction since the beginning of May and its ranging in the zone below the mentioned psychological level.
On May 7 it formed a red candle and dropped further to $0.294. On the next day, May 8, the XRP once again made a move in the opposite direction, partially erasing losses from the previous session. It closed at $0.297.
On Thursday, May 9 and Friday, May 10, the XRP/USD pair was trading in the $0.293 – $0.297 zone without being able to form a trend.
The weekend of May 11-May 12 started with a huge green candle to $0.32. The “ripple” gained more than 8.4 percent in its best session since April 5 as bulls were able to push the price as high as $0.34 during the day.
The XRP ended May 12 and the week at $0.31, or 6 percent up for the 7-day period.
Altcoin of the week
Our Altcoin of the week is Bitcoin Cash (BCH). The Bitcoin fork is the best performing altcoin in the top ten for the last 7 days with the staggering 22.6 percent increase.
It added more than $77 to its value reaching levels last seen in November 2018. Daily BCH/USD charts on Bitstamp show $400 as the next target before $500, while $230 might serve as a support. Although it was tested just once, this level is also the point where the 50-day and 200-day EMAs recently crossed on April 29, triggering a bull run.
Like BTCMANAGER? Send us a tip!
Our Bitcoin Address: 3AbQrAyRsdM5NX5BQh8qWYePEpGjCYLCy4
