Bitcoin (BTC) price fell below $9,500 on Aug. 29 as the largest cryptocurrency’s sudden bearish move continued to bite.
Market visualization. Source: Coin360
Bitcoin price must finish week above $9,533
Data from Coin360 painted a gloomy picture for day traders Thursday, BTC/USD having lost 8% in the past 24 hours.
The turbulence began late on Wednesday, Bitcoin markets shedding $500 in minutes to completely lose support at $10,000. Selling pressure then mounted, BTC/USD putting in a local low of $9,350 before stabilizing closer to $9,500.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360
As Cointelegraph reported, expectations had been mounting throughout the week that Bitcoin would break its sideways trading pattern to produce fresh volatility.
Those omens came true, albeit to the downside, as analysts admitted that the monthly outlook as well was now looking less than appetizing.
“Price is near weekly support & on weekly perspective, I want to see BTC close above $9533 Sunday or it would form a lower-low,” regular contributor Josh Rager summarized in his latest update.
“Monthly chart looks ugly too,” he added.
Not everyone was concerned by the drop, however. PlanB, the well-known cryptocurrency Twitter account, likened current conditions to Bitcoin in mid-2016, shortly before momentum built to take the cryptocurrency to its record high of $20,000.
That forecast would likely provide little comfort to traders who longed Bitcoin, however, with $150 million liquidated on derivatives giant BitMEX late Wednesday.
Altcoins face “oblivion,” says Keiser
Altcoins meanwhile felt the full force of the bears, with many tokens considerably outpacing Bitcoin in shedding value.
Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin by market cap, fell 8.8% to $170, a drop similar to most of the top twenty cryptocurrencies.
Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360
The action fuelled the existing lack of faith in altcoin markets, with RT host Max Keiser declaring ETH/USD could soon fall to just $90.
“Bitcoin dominance climbs as alt-season fails to materialize and alts resume downward trek to oblivion,” he summarized on Twitter.
Altcoin Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and its controversial spin-off Bitcoin SV (BSV) should additionally shed another 90% of their value, he claimed.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap took a $20 billion hit from the combined losses, currently sitting at $246 billion, with Bitcoin’s share at 69%.