Binance’s intended launch of a Libra-like stablecoin appeared to buoy markets as Bitcoin reversed previous losses.
Bitcoin (BTC) price was returning to bullish form on Aug. 19 as markets look to break out from last week’s sideways trading.
Market visualization. Source: Coin360
Bitcoin price builds on $10K support
Data from Coin360 revealed Bitcoin challenging $11,000 in morning trading as Monday delivered almost 5% gains.
Markets appeared to be reacting to news cryptocurrency exchange Binance was planning to release its own version of Facebook’s Libra digital currency, in what is also a direct response to China’s central bank.
At press time, BTC/USD was circling $10,650, capping daily gains of 4.9%, while weekly progress still totalled 5.5% losses.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360
While there was no great cause for celebration, analysts were eyeing potential further progress towards $11,000, within a greater context of upper resistance circling $12,000.
Mati Greenspan, a senior market analyst at United Kingdom-based trading platform eToro, identified a bullish wedge for the pair, while noting further upward progress was not guaranteed.
Regular analyst Josh Rager meanwhile delivered an explanation of Bitcoin’s longer-term performance, arguing investors had finished buying up cheaper coins after cashing out profits at BTC/USD’s 2019 highs around $13,800.
“In my opinion, this seems just like one large re-accumulation happening after large players took profits near $14k,” he summarized on Saturday. “This seems just like one large re-accumulation happening after large players took profits near $14k.”
He added he considered it unlikely the Bitcoin price would drop below the high $8000 range.
Altcoins rise from the dead (at last)
Altcoin investors also had something to talk about this week as Bitcoin’s gains contributed to a recovery from previous lows.
As Cointelegraph reported, markets saw a considerable decline last week, with some altcoins dropping to lows against Bitcoin not seen for years.
Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin asset by market cap, gained 8.3% to hit $200 once again, some way to previous levels of $225 seen before its latest decline.
Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360
Other tokens in the top ten followed suit, with Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) and XRP producing gains of between 6% and 8% on the day.
The uptick had a telling effect on the overall cryptocurrency market cap, which on Monday stood at just under $280 billion, Bitcoin’s share challenging 69%.
