The total value of digital currencies fell below $300 billion overnight as more broad-based selling pushed some major digital currencies to multimonth lows.
The No. 1 digital currency, bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.34% spent most of Tuesday trading below $8,000, nearing long-term support, which will have the eye of many traders. Bitcoin was last traded at $7,882.64, down 3.1% on the day.
“The declining overall market cap is a reflection that people are withdrawing capital from the space,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
“After steadying we are not seeing the same optimism as before and the path of least resistance is lower not higher.”
Tuesday marks bitcoin’s sixth losing day in the last seven as the mid-March rally continues to unwind.
Long-term support in focus
The fall in bitcoin has wiped out many short- and long-term support levels. In addition, each relief rally has met resistance at key moving averages. The current selloff has bitcoin is nearing a further long-term trendline that, if broken, could leave it vulnerable for to retest the Feb. 6 lower under $6,000.
Moreover, since testing the 200-day moving average on March 21, bitcoin has fallen nearly 15% and is on track for its fourth consecutive losing day. A breach of that trend line could spell further danger for crypto traders.
Ether the big loser
The big loser among major cryptocurrencies continues to be ether. The smart-contract currency has failed to stabilize and overnight reached its lowest level since Dec. 11. ether is down 6.5% on the day, trading at $458.09. Ether is now down more than 30% year-to-date.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin Cash is off 1.6% at $905.25, Litecoin has shed 4.1% trading at $143.07 and Ripple last traded at 60 cents, down 0.6% on the day.
After spending most of the day in the green, futures markets closed in the red.
Read more at:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/crypto-market-cap-dips-below-300-billion-as-bitcoin-nears-long-term-support-2018-03-
