The cryptocurrency markets continued to build on April’s gains this week, with alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) leading the way.
Notably, the combined market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies rose back above $460 billion today – the highest level since March 6, representing a week-on-week increase of 15.8 percent.
Out of top 25 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, 23 are reporting gains on a weekly basis, and names like nano (NANO), VeChain (VET) and bytecoin (BCN) are topping the list.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is reporting 8.5 percent appreciation, largely due to Thursday’s bull pennant breakout.
Meanwhile, other bigwigs like Ripple (XRP), litecoin (LTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) are reporting 11 percent gains. Ethereum’s ether token (ETH) rose above $800 for the first time since early March and has witnessed an appreciation of 23 percent.
Moving forward, the cryptomarkets will likely remain bid as bitcoin is eyeing a big bullish break above the $10,000 mark.
Weekly top gainers
NANO
Weekly performance: +38.20 percent
All-time high: $34.43
Closing price on April 27: $6.99
Current market price: $9.66
Rank as per market capitalization: 25
Nano’s USD-denominated exchange rate surged 38 percent this week and BTC-denominated exchange rate (NANO/BTC) appreciated close to 30 percent. The price rally is backed by 517 percent week-on-week rise in daily trading volumes and hence looks sustainable.
NANO/BTC 4-hour chart
The big rounding bottom pattern indicates better days ahead for the cryptocurrency. However, the relative strength index has turned away from the overbought territory, so a minor pullback cannot be ruled out.
Only a break below the ascending trendline support of 0.00094BTC would signal bullish invalidation.
VeChain
Weekly performance: +35.54 percent
All-time high: $9.45
Closing price on April 27: $3.77
Current market price: $5.11
Rank as per market capitalization: 15
VeChain’s VET token is solidly bid this week, having witnessed a bullish breakout on April 12. The solid performance could be associated with the excitement about its mainnet launch, scheduled for the end of June.
The price rally is accompanied by a 68 percent week-on-week rise in daily trading volume, which indicates that strong hands are at play.
VET daily chart
The higher lows and higher highs pattern, as marked by the ascending trendline, coupled with the ascending 5-day moving average (MA) and 10-day MA indicate scope for a move above $6.
Note that the relative strength index (RSI) is closing in on 70 (overbought territory), so in the short-run VET may have a tough time scaling the $6.00 mark in a convincing manner.
Bytecoin
Weekly performance: +34 percent
All-time high: $0.017818
Closing price on April 27: $0.005284
Current market price: $0.007081
Rank as per market capitalization: 23
Bytecoin (BCN) remained flat-lined for the major part of the week before picking up a bid on Thursday and rising to a three-month high of $0.00748 (Poloniex price). Daily trading volume has increased more than 50 percent week-on-week, adding credence to the price rally.
BCN daily chart
BCN closed yesterday above $0.006247 (Feb. 20 high) in a convincing manner, signaling a continuation of the rally from the April 1 low of $0.00186. However, the RSI shows overbought conditions, so a pullback could be on the cards. That said, bullish invalidation is seen only below $0.00484 (May 1 low).
Weekly losers
Monero
Weekly performance: -1.55 percent
All-time high: $495
Closing price on April 27: $252
Current market price: $248
Rank as per market capitalization: 13
Privacy-focused monero (XMR) is reporting moderate losses this week, despite a string of good news: the integrations team released a monero payment gateway for Opencart, and abra.com, a financial services and technology company, added XMR to the Abra app, which facilitates trading in 25 cryptocurrencies and 50 fiat currencies.
Moreover, most privacy-focused cryptos got a lift after the recent verge-Pornhub tie-up. XMR rallied to $299 on Bitfinex on April 24 – the highest level since March 8 and looked overbought as per the daily RSI.
Hence, XMR’s underperformance is not surprising. That said, the cryptocurrency could regain poise next week, the technical charts indicate.
XMR 4-hour chart
The bull flag breakout seen on the chart indicates the rally from the April 17 low of $193 has resumed. So, XMR looks set to test the resistance at $265 in the short-run. Only a close (as per UTC) below $227 would signal a bullish-to-bearish trend change.
ICON
Weekly performance: -0.70 percent
All-time high: $12.04
Closing price on April 27: $4.3
Current market price: $4.27
Rank as per market capitalization: 21
ICON (ICX) is reporting slight losses this week amid signs of indecision in the marketplace, as represented by the multiple doji candles. When viewed against the backdrop of the rally from the April lows below $1.85, the doji candles likely indicate bullish exhaustion.
ICX daily chart
The doji candles also indicate the bullish breakout (upside break of the falling trendline) has failed. Meanwhile, the RSI is trending lower in favor of the bears, so ICX may revisit the trendline support (former resistance) next week. Note that acceptance below the trendline would put the bears back into the driver’s seat.
Jets in formation image via Shutterstock