Market Outlook #13 (25th November 2018)

What a crazy week we’ve had across-the board. In this 13th instalment of the Market Outlook series, I’ll be dissecting the bloodbath that has ensued over the past few days in Bitcoin, Monero and Ethereum. I’ll also be taking a look at the super interesting price-action currently occuring in XRP, as well as highlighting one altcoin that seems to be looking bullish despite macro market conditions: Stakenet.

N.B: I’ve used log charts for a lot of this post primarily to improve the visibility of the moves.

Bitcoin:

Price: $3871.90

Market Cap: $67.344bn

Thoughts: Firstly, let’s take a second to appreciate that Bitcoin has dropped by more than 40% in two weeks… okay, second over. I hope that you guys are all still alive, and, more importantly, in a position to capitalise on prices that we haven’t seen since Q3 2017.

Now, the first chart I’ve posted is a simple fractal from 2014/15. The only reason I’ve posted this is so that we can visualise the price drop in percentage-terms and map it out to this year, to at least give an estimate as to what could be considered a ‘cheap’ price going forward. Those that bought BTC in 2015 at an 85% or greater discount from the all-time high were maximally rewarded when the subsequent bull cycle began. If we use a similar discount from the January highs of ~$20k, we’d need to see sub-$3k prices to capture maximal returns when the next bull cycle begins. This is a simplistic perspective using the fractal, but it is useful when used in conjunction with the subsequently printed price-action charts.

So, this past week has seen price drop into a Weekly bullish orderblock that has remained untouched for over a year. This is significant. Zooming into the Daily chart, we can see that price has also traded within the Daily bullish orderblock. There is some probability that any calls for new lows could be answered with a reversal from current prices, given this higher time-frame confluence. When we look at the 15-minute chart, we can also see the beginnings of a short-term reversal, with price breaking market structure to the upside and respecting the breaker. This is indicative of a potential relief rally to the $4.2-4.3k area. However, this is only valid whilst the breaker remains intact. If the breaker gives way, new lows are highly probable.

However, given the fractal we mentioned earlier that would price ‘cheap’ Bitcoin below $3k, what would draw price to such levels? Well, the level of prior resistance turned support at around $3k is what led to a continuation of the momentum that pushed prices to just shy of $20k in January. Hence, there is a great deal of liquidity resting below that swing-low. Price has already swept the stops below $5400 without there being sufficient momentum for a reversal, so the next obvious place for price to seek out would be those lows below $3k. There is also an untested Weekly bullish orderblock resting just below that level at ~$2.5k. *If* we do not see a sustained reversal from within the current orderblock, this is where I expect price to move towards. There has, however, been significant trading volume this week – the highest since in 8 months on Bitfinex – and, as such, I wouldn’t rule out a longer-term reversal forming from these levels.

Either way, if you have capital set aside for future investment, scaling into spot Bitcoin from here seems a no-brainer with a sufficient time-horizon.

Monero:

XMR/USD

XMR/BTC

Price: $57.06 (0.01485 BTC)

Market Cap: $947.042mn (246,547 BTC)

Thoughts: Monero has swept the Weekly swing-low against the Dollar at just shy of $65. This low had been untouched for 13 months. Price has traded into a level of prior resistance at $58, though I would be surprised to see anything more than a short-term bounce at these prices. This is primarily because of the meaty Weekly bullish orderblock sitting sitting at $45. Against BTC, Monero is still riding the two-year uptrend, and is currently experiencing a slow bleed towards the Daily bullish orderblock at 0.014 BTC. This level has confluence with the two-year trendline support, and I do not anticipate the ~0.013 BTC lows to give way easily. Short-term support has become resistance at 0.0155 BTC and price continues to trade below its short-term trendline resistance.

Ethereum:

ETH/USD

ETH/BTC

Price: $110.03 (0.02856 BTC)

Market Cap: $11.379bn (2,954,347 BTC)

Thoughts: Well, where Ethereum seemed to be positioned so strongly just a couple of weeks ago, it now looks the weakest against the Dollar. There are very few higher time-frame levels of support on ETH/USD. The most significant ones are at $95, $59 and ~$49. These latter two levels are around a 50% drop away still, and are situated around the next Weekly bullish orderblock. That would be a huge drop given where BTC/USD and ETH/BTC are sitting. It would either imply another 50% drop in Bitcoin’s price (if ETH/BTC is stable), which, whilst not improbable, I find highly unlikely; or it would mean ETH/BTC breaks a number of critical support levels, which is more probable.

However, this past week’s dump has meant that the Weekly swing-low that formed in July 2017 has now been swept, and there are a number of reasons to think that we’ll find some support at the levels highlighted on the Daily chart. The ~$100 level is an area of prior resistance that seems to be holding for now, whilst $92 is the next Daily bullish orderblock. I would expect this area to provide at least some short-term relief. That being said, there is an untouched pool of stops resting below $77 with highly illiquid price-action below it that price may seek to fill in. The following level of support would be the prior resistance at $59…

Looking at the 4H ETH/BTC chart, we can see that price has traded into a 4H bullish orderblock, with prior support at 0.0308 BTC now resistance. The short-term trendline resistance has, however, been broken. If price can sustain this breakout and remain above the orderblock, I’d expect a recovery to that former support level.

XRP:

XRP/USD

XRP/BTC

Price: $0.35 (9112 satoshis)

Market Cap: $14.15bn (3,674,547 BTC)

Thoughts: Ah, XRP – the coin that everyone loves to hate. Despite this communal loathing, no one can deny how fascinating the price-action of XRP has been over this past week. Where most altcoins have fallen against BTC due to the recent volatility, XRP has rallied. This hasn’t, of course, stopped it falling against the Dollar.

There is no doubt that XRP/BTC is exhibiting bullish market structure, with higher-highs and higher-lows in continual formation since early October. A bounce at current levels of prior resistance potentially turned support would imply an imminent new high above ~11k satoshis. When you look at this in conjunction with XRP/USD, there seems to be a highly profitable opportunity in play. The Weekly chart for XRP against the Dollar shows that price is trading inside a Weekly bullish orderblock and between two levels of prior resistance. Dropping down into the Daily chart shows that price has swept the liqudity below $0.372 (also a level of prior resistance turned support) and caught a bounce from the equilibrium (50%) of the orderblock (which is also a level of prior support). This is a low-risk, high-reward play.

Stakenet:

XSN/BTC

Price: $0.10 (2621 satoshis)

Market Cap: $7.449mn (1,938 BTC)

Thoughts: After publishing my Coin Report on Stakenet last week, I hadn’t actually paid any attention to its recent price-action. It seems that Stakenet gives zero fucks about what Bitcoin is doing…

The Daily chart is printing what looks to be a series of extended higher-lows and higher-highs, but price has run into resistance at ~3200 satoshis. However, volume has been rising for three months straight and levels of prior resistance are becoming short-term support. *If* this momentum can be sustained and the Daily can close above 3200 satoshis, there’s a likelihood that Stakenet is beginning a new bull cycle.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this 13th instalment of Market Outlook. Stay safe out there.

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