Bitcoin, Ethereum Slump, Alt-Coins Hit Hard
After opening the day broadly unchanged, the cryptocurrency market slumped across the board in the space of a few minutes with some alt-coins registering hefty double-digit losses.
The market has been reasonably calm of late with Bitcoin and Ethereum stable while the alt-coin market has been outperforming with 10-20 percent gains. This move may just be the case of volatility and complacency colliding and the next few days will likely decide the short- to medium-term outlook for the market.
Bitcoin (BITCOMP) has broken through prior resistance and hit a low just above $58k before steadying and pushing back up to prior support around $59.5k. There are no obvious reasons for the move as yet.
Bitcoin (BTC/USD) 5-Minute Chart – October 27, 2021
Ethereum (ETH-X) opened the session in a positive mood and looked to be pushing towards the all-time high at $4.378. The sharp sell-off took the second-largest crypto by market capitalization below recent support at $4,028 to a low of $3,932. Ethereum is starting to stabilize but needs to regain and stay above prior support if it is to push higher.
Ethereum (ETH/USD) 5-Minute Price Chart – October 27, 2021
The alt-coin market has given back nearly all of its recent gains and may take time to rebuild. Cardano (ADA-X) hit a low print just above $1.80 after having traded as high as $2.38 earlier this month, while Solana (SOL-X) traded around a low of $175 after having made an all-time high of $219 on Monday.
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Is it possible that the sudden sell-off was caused by profit taking? The concept of "buy low, sell high" does come to mind as a basic tenet of how outsiders view the market working. How else would one gain spendable profit from trading stocks??? Apparent wealth based on increased share price is not "real" unless it can actually be spent.
Theoretical wealth may satisfy greed but it is rather fragile.