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Bitcoin futures are a reality. Will we soon see Bitcoin ETFs as well? Why not? A Bitcoin ETF will help the masses, and the institutional investors take a position in the new asset class. The additional scrutiny and the regulations that come with these new offerings will also boost the confidence in cryptocurrencies.

Now, even political heads are warning that the current banking system may be on its way out.

However, while these developments are positive for the future of bitcoins and altcoins, it is still going to be a roller coaster ride to the final destination. Therefore, we believe that borrowing money to trade or mortgaging the house to invest in bitcoins is not a good strategy.

While the long-term trajectory may be up, the intermittent falls will be steep and can cause a lot of pain to people who are betting the house to trade in cryptocurrencies. Therefore, only trade with the money that you can afford to lose and trade safely.

After the sharp rally, Ripple is back to the fourth slot in terms of market capitalization. Due to the frequent changes in the positioning of the top seven cryptocurrencies, we have decided to include all the seven in our analysis to benefit our readers.

BTC/USD

For the past two days, the daily range in Bitcoin has shrunk, as we had anticipated in our previous analysis.

After the huge run, the traders are taking a break, which is a healthy sign. If the digital currency consolidates near the lifetime highs, chances are that the bulls will again attempt to breakout of $16,700.

If successful, Bitcoin will resume its uptrend and move towards its pattern target of $24,291.58.

On the other hand, a failure to sustain above the highs is likely to encourage the bears, who will push the virtual currency towards the 20-day EMA.

At the current levels, we don’t find any attractive setup, hence, we do not recommend any trade on it right now.

ETH/USD

Ethereum broke through our target objective of $652 and rose to a high of $784.77. That is a sharp rally of 89% within seven days.

Currently, the digital currency has formed a Doji candlestick pattern, which shows tiredness.

We expect the cryptocurrency to pullback to $643.52 and $599.89, which are 38.2% and 50% Fibonacci retracement levels of the rally.

The next trade set up will form once the pullback ends or if Ethereum breaks out to lifetime highs once again. Until then, we shall wait.

BCH/USD

We had recommended a long position on Bitcoin Cash at $1500 in our previous analysis. Our target objective of $1750 has been exceeded.  

While the digital currency broke out of the upper end of the range, it could not sustain the higher levels. Therefore, traders can book 50% profits at the current levels and raise the stop loss to breakeven on the remaining position. If Bitcoin Cash can sustain above the upper end of the range, it is likely to rally towards its next target objective of $2387.

If the bulls manage to break out of $2387, then a retest of the highs is also possible. Traders should book complete profits if the digital currency manages to reach $2700 levels.

However, if the bulls fail to sustain above $1758, the virtual currency will remain range bound.

XRP/USD

Ripple is skyrocketing after breaking out of the long-term consolidation. It had embarked on a similar rally in end-April to mid-May of this year.

The pattern target on the breakout of the range of $0.12700 to $0.39887 was $0.67074. The digital currency has already risen above its minimum target objective.

We believe that Ripple will now face considerable resistance at the $0.86 mark. Therefore, traders who are long from lower levels should book partial profits at the current levels and hold the rest with a suitable stop-loss.

We will be able to draw support levels only after the digital currency stops rising.

IOTA/USD

We were waiting for a breakout of the pennant formation to initiate long positions. However, the digital currency broke down of the pattern, which is a bearish development.

We, now, expect the bears to take hold of the opportunity and push the digital currency towards the 20-day EMA, which is close to the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the rally.

Unless IOTA breaks out of the downtrend line, it will remain under pressure.

We shall wait for the fall to end before recommending any fresh long positions.

LTC/USD

In our previous analysis, we had mentioned that the level between $312 and $340 is likely to act as a strong resistance and that is what happened.

Litecoin started a pullback after reaching a high of $342.237.

The pullback has strong support at $243.86 and $213.473, which are 38.2 percent and 50 percent Fibonacci retracement levels of the rally from $84.708 to $342.237.

After such a strong rally, we may see a period of consolidation or correction. Therefore, we don’t advise any fresh long positions at the current levels.  

DASH/USD

Dash broke out of the overhead resistance of $815 on December 12. While we had expected a quick rally to $979 levels, the up move  is facing selling above $900 levels.

If traders have purchased long positions based on our bullish outlook in the previous analysis, please book 50% profits at the current levels and raise the stop-loss on the rest to $736.

The rally is looking tired. Unless we see a sharp up move within a couple of days, chances are that the digital currency will fall back below $815 once again. Therefore, we propose to reduce the risk.

However, on the upside, if Dash breaks out of $979, it is likely to rally to $1199.01. Hence, we are keeping 50% positions open.

The market data is provided by the HitBTC exchange.