It’s only the 10th day in the month of June but something unexciting has been happening in the cryptocurrency market. While hopes were high that the same performance in the months of April and May will be evident in June, the reverse is the case given that Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin cash and other top cryptocurrencies are falling. But why is that?
Bitcoin Experiences a Decline in Price
CoinMarketCap shows that Bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency by market cap began a U-turn downwards on June 3, 2019. On the said date, the virtual asset was trading around $8,500 and had a market cap of $152 billion. However, what is currently evident, is a price of $7,700 and a market cap of $137 billion. The asset even traded as low as $7,400 on exchanges such as Bitstamp on June 6, 2019.
While that price tag is still an improvement since its almost twice its price tag of $4,100 on April 2, 2019, when the surge began, it is still not a remarkable one. The reason cannot be farfetched since it is happening at a time when hopes are high that we’re heading for $10,000, $20,000 and even the $50,000 price range.
Top 10 Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap Also Decline in Price
The decline in Bitcoin’s price has not spared the market since the 10 major cryptocurrencies by market cap (asides from Tether, a stablecoin) have also been affected. Ethereum, for instance, has a year-to-date high of $287 and a market cap of $30 billion. However, it is currently valued at $236 with a market cap of $25 billion. The latter is still a long way from its all-time high of $1,432 on January 13, 2018.
Ripple XRP, the third largest cryptocurrency by market value has also taken a hit and is trading downwards. It may have maintained its $0.40 support for some days, but it has devalued to $0.38 today. The digital asset had shown a lot of promise when it flashed $0.46 on May 30, 2019. On the other hand, cryptocurrency analysts like Gordon Gecko have predicted that XRP may spike in the coming months to $7 due to the same golden pattern recently exhibited which was the case in 2017 when it surged to $3.50.
Litecoin Holds Above $100 Despite the General Market Performance
Litecoin, the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market cap has held above $100 which is quite remarkable. Currently trading at $117, it has decremented from $120 which is its year-to-date high. Now when one compares it to other assets, it has not taken much of a beating, but that may be linked to the expected Litecoin halving in August this year. Many are expecting that will help to boost the coin’s price to $1,000 due to the scarcity that will be created.
Bitcoin cash has received a lot of attention of late and like Bitcoin, there is a steady drop in its price. From $478 on May 30, 2019, to a current price of $378. When consideration is given to the decline, that is almost a $100 loss. Its price today can also be compared to that of March 13, 2019.
EOS Drops Despite News Emerging from Block.one
One more altcoin that is currently declining is EOS. There may have been a lot of news surrounding Block.one, the company backing the asset, such as the intended launch of Tether (USDT) on the EOS blockchain protocol and launch of an EOSIO explorer for developers, however, it has done very little to maintain its price of $8.59. At the moment, EOS is valued at $6.18.
Despite the sudden change in the market, there’s still the belief that things will change for the better and the market is only correcting itself. The decline in prices may also not come as a surprise since a number of media outlets have been hammering that Bitcoin has reached an overbought zone which could trigger a downtrend in its price.
