Last week was extremely busy for the markets due to high-impact news, such as an additional rate hike and mixed unemployment numbers in the U.S.
On Wednesday, November 2nd, The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another 0.75%, making it the fourth hike so far this year, and on Friday, November 4th, traders got mixed data from U.S. unemployment figures.
Despite the fact that rate hikes are generally considered bearish for high-risk assets such as cryptocurrencies, for the second week in a row, the crypto market showed mainly green. As mentioned in last week’s market breakdown, most major cryptocurrencies were too far stretched to the downside, and it was time for a correction higher.
As a follow-up to last week’s article, this piece will go over the cryptocurrencies to watch this week: Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH-USD), Ripple (XRP-USD), and Litecoin (LTC-USD).
Bitcoin (BTC-USD)
Over the weekend, Bitcoin managed to break above the strong resistance level at $21,000 for the first time since September of this year. This shows that speculative buyers are still in the market, waiting for opportunities to buy into positive momentum when it arrives.
As of now, the number one cryptocurrency by market cap is trading at around $20,700 after a slight correction to the downside, yet it is still up by 0.5% in the last seven days.
As can be seen on the chart, Bitcoin set a new support at around $20,200, and should this support continue to hold this week, the next major resistance level for Bitcoin to test is as far as $24,500. If, however, sellers regain control, the price may continue to decrease to retest the descending daily trend line at around $18,800.
Ethereum (ETH-USD)
Following the Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) numbers published on Friday, November 4th, which showed that the U.S. job market continued to be strong and created more jobs than expected, Ethereum had a strong end to the week by recovering from previous losses and closing the day by going up more than 9%.
As of now, Ethereum is trading at around $1,560 and is still above the key support area of $1,450. Looking at the chart, the 200-day moving average (white line on the chart) is now acting as a resistance level. A break above this line could potentially lead the cryptocurrency to its next resistance at $2,000. However, if sellers regain control, the key level at $1,500 should now act as support.
Ripple (XRP-USD)
In a similar manner to the rest of the crypto market, Ripple’s XRP had a very strong day on Friday, November 4th. After touching the same support level at $0.44, which was covered in previous articles, XRP jumped more than 12% to reach the descending daily trend line at $0.50. As is evident from the chart, this level continues to be a strong resistance, where time and time again, the sellers step in and push the price lower.
From where the price is now, the next support remains at $0.44, while only a break and close above the resistance at $0.50 can change the picture and lead XRP into new highs for the year.
Litecoin (LTC-USD)
Litecoin, also known as the ‘digital silver,’ was one of the strongest in the crypto market last week. Therefore, even after pulling back slightly, the token is still up by 27% in the last seven days.
The analytics platform Santiment has also pointed out a possible bullish signal for Litecoin, as the number of whale addresses (addresses that hold at least 1000 LTC) has rapidly increased during the last few months.
Currently, Litecoin is trading at around $70, above the resistance level mentioned last week at $65. If this bullish momentum continues, the $65 level should now act as the support, with the next resistance sitting at $75.
Conclusion: Traders are Eager for Buying Opportunities
The major take from last week’s price action is that traders and investors are hungry for some upside movement, even though the general market direction is still bearish. Looking at the macro conditions, it could stay this way for some time. However, in every bear market, there are some rallies to the upside that can be very strong and surprising, just like the one last weekend.
Short-term traders should probably continue to trade within the ranges, from support to resistance and vice-versa; this strategy seems to work the best so far this year.
Long-term investors should consider focusing on their favorite projects and use every strong dip in price to their advantage.
