On May 20, 2019, we analyzed Ethereum (ETH and Ethereum Classic (ETC) to predict future price fluctuations. In this analysis, we assess the validity of our predictions.

We begin by examining the trading patterns of each of the coins and then assess their technical indicators. By comparing them to those observed yesterday, we are able to make a more thorough assessment of the cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum In a Broadening Wedge
Since May 17, ETH/USD has been trading within a short-term ascending broadening wedge. During this period, gradual increases have been observed:


ETH dropped from the resistance line on May 20 to validate the support line. A slight reversal brought the price back into the middle of the wedge where it is still trading at the time of writing.

Short-Term Increase?
To better predict The price of Ethereum is analyzed alongside the 100- and 200-period moving averages below:



On May 20, the 100-period MA crossed above the 200-period one. This is known as a bullish cross and often indicates that an uptrend has begun. Furthermore, this was succeeded by a price increase above both moving averages.

In yesterday’s analysis, we noted that bearish divergence had recently been generated within the RSI and MACD. Because this was occurring within a bearish pattern, we predicted: “the price of ETH will decrease towards the support line of the wedge.”

The support line was reached after our analysis was published. Then the price rebounded to its current position.

Given May 20’s bullish cross, ETH may experience slight increases inside the confines of the wedge. However, there remains bearish divergence in a bearish pattern suggests that a breakout is unlikely.

The price may still reach the support line after any future hourly gains.

Ethereum Classic Inside a Symmetrical Triangle
ETC/USD reached an hourly low of $6.66 on May 15 and generated an ascending support line. After reaching a high of $8.48 the next day, a resistance line emerged.

Since that time, ETC has been decreasing inside the symmetrical triangle outlined below:



At the time of writing, the price is trading slightly above the support line of the triangle.

Possible Top
The price of ETC is analyzed at 12-hour intervals alongside the RSI to assess possible future price fluctuations. During this period, ETC has been following an ascending support line since February. No resistance line is yet apparent for this period.

The triangle traced in the previous section is well above the long-term support line:



Bearish divergence is observed within the RSI for the period May 15 to 19. In addition, bearish divergence was observed in both the RSI and MACD between Apr 7 to May 16 in yesterday’s analysis.

This suggests ETC is likely to breakdown from the triangle and reach the long-term support line traced above. Prices may reach $6.

Conclusion
In the short term, ETH is trading inside a broadening wedge while ETC’s price is trading inside a symmetrical triangle. Additionally, ETH has generated a short-term bullish cross while ETC has generated significant long-term bearish divergence in the RSI.

Therefore, we believe that ETC will soon break down from its short-term trading pattern and drop towards the long-term support line. ETH, on the other hand, may experience slight gains before dropping. A breakdown does not currently appear likely for ETH.

source: https://beincrypto.com/bullish-cross-ethereum-breakdown-ethereum-classic-eth-etc-price-analysis-may-21/

Coin Metrics now reports that Ripple Labs did under-reported the number of XRP released from escrow by a total of 200 million XRP while implementing the “escrow queue” differently than announced. The reaction could be heaping pressure on XRP which is fast dropping, clawing back this week’s gains.

Ripple Price Analysis
Fundamentals
According to a Coin Metrics report, Ripple Labs is allegedly misrepresenting the actual amount of XRP in their escrow accounts.

In two different occasions, the blockchain analytics firm said the XRP issuer “under-reported the number of XRP released from escrow by a total of 200 million XRP ($84 million at current prices)” further adding “other party/parties, potentially associated with Ripple, have released 55 million XRP from an unknown escrow address not connected to the main Ripple escrow account.”

However, it was the revelation that “the “escrow queue” is implemented differently than announced, leading to a faster future release of escrowed funds compared to the announced schedule,” that is drawing criticism to Ripple Labs and Ripple Inc, the majority holders of XRP.

“A scam is a scam. Tokens made out of thin air are not true crypto in any shape or form. Just a nice way to print free money got to give it to ripple though. They have created a new central bank by selling their shitcoins to fools who keep buying it up thinking they gonna rich.”

In an attempt to pour cold water on the finding, David Schwartz, the CTO of Ripple Inc, took to Twitter saying “regarding the chatter about reporting methodology around XRP escrow in Ripple’s quarterly XRP Markets Reports: this is simply a timeline issue.”

Candlestick Arrangement


Like other crypto assets, Ripple (XRP) is under pressure. Even so, thanks to sharp upswings mid this week, the asset is up 25.6 percent in the last week. All the same, candlestick arrangement point to bulls but bears are temporarily in charge.

Note that although sellers are pressing lower, they are yet to reverse gains of May 14th, the breakout bar and the trigger of the first wave of higher highs targeting Q1 2019 highs. Therefore, it is imperative that buyers build enough momentum to drive prices above May 15th highs since bulls are in control from an effort versus result point of view—prices are oscillating within May 14th high low.

Once that prints out, then we shall trade in line with our previous XRP/USD trade plan with targets at 60 cents.

Technical Indicators
As aforementioned, May 14th bar is our anchor bar. Holding price action of the last two days, buyers are therefore in charge. However, it is after prices close above 40 cents complete with high transaction volumes, preferably above 108 million that risk-averse traders can buy on dips with targets at 60 cents.

source: https://www.newsbtc.com/2019/05/18/ripple-xrp-bulls-firm-despite-coin-metric-report/

Ripple (XRP) has received attention from two sides. One considers that XRP is headed for adoption by major financial institutions while the other camp sneers at insisting that it cannot be classified as a utility because of the level of centralization as a fund-raising tool, if not an air-drop.

There’s a third angle to see XRP when comparing it with other coins; the kind of publicity it has whether as a platform, an alternative digital asset, or the quality of the team.

As XRP_Anderson tweeted:

“Considering the recent issues having to do with some of the largest cryptos in the market, I would say, I believe XRP is much far ahead of than what we realize. Yes, I said it! Just being honest! How many issues are you seeing XRP having?”

Anderson is right

On a deeper level, XRP_Anderson is right. A look at the top cryptos, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), reveals just how superior Ripple as a network is.

more complete: https://ethereumworldnews.com/why-ripple-xrp-is-far-ahead-of-other-projects-than-we-realize/

In our latest Cryptocurrency vs. Cannabis price analysis, we noted that Ethereum has spiked by over 40% during the last week.

Ethereum Classic has also seen recent gains but appears to have broken down from a short-term trading pattern recently. Will Ethereum Classic come falling down as Ethereum pushes forward to new heights?

more complete: https://beincrypto.com/binance-coin-tron-reached-peak-after-sruge/

According to a new research by Chainalysis Inc., there are just 376 wallets holding as much as one-third of all the Ether, the token that runs the Ethereum blockchain. This figure is surprising for a few reasons, namely that it calls into question the level of decentralisation of the coin, as well as what the tokens are being used for.

The cryptocurrency market is still a relatively small one, and in that there has often been cases where big wallets and Whales have had enough capital behind them to move and manipulate the market – especially for Bitcoin where Chainanalysis found that 448 people own 20 percent of all Bitcoin.

However, the fact that Ethereum is also prone to these Whales shows that the second biggest cryptocurrency by market cap and the pioneer of smart contract blockchains also might have a problem with distribution and decentralisation.

Whale Watching

Uncovering these Ethereum Whales is interesting to note as Ether, unlike Bitcoin, has not got the same single function as a store of value and is intended to be used upon the smart contract platform. However, there are clearly still selected individuals who hold large stores of the currency.

This 30 percent of Ether being held by a small number of people detracts from the decentralised aspect of major cryptocurrencies like this, but it also leads to questions of market manipulation should these 376 wallets operate with intention in trading.

That being said, the research has shown that these wallets are mostly holding.

Kim Grauer, a senior economist at the company, said: “The majority of whales aren’t traders. They’re mostly holding.”

However, Chainalysis did look at the effect Ether whales have on its price, and found that when a whale moves Ether from a wallet to an exchange, there is a small but statistically significant effect on market volatility.

Looking for true decentralisation

There have been concerns in the past about Bitcoin and that much of its value belongs to a small fraction of the population that uses the cryptocurrency. There has been instances where Whales, or groups of high-value wallets have banded together to cause movements in the market on purpose. This has raised the eyebrows of the likes of the SEC.

For Ethereum also to be in a situation where its distribution is not as advanced as one would hope, and its decentralisation as a smart contract blockchain also in question, there are questions that need to be raised about effectiveness as a decentralised platform.

source: https://ethereumworldnews.com/ethereums-decentralization-in-question-with-376-wallets-holding-one-third-of-all-eth/

Behind today’s 16.8 percent surge of Ethereum (ETH) prices are supportive fundamentals. Sources indicate that the CFTC is warming up to the idea of ETH derivatives and heavyweights are gravitating towards Ethereum. That is supporting prices, countering sell pressure emanating from Cryptopia liquidation.

Ethereum Price Analysis


Fundamentals
It’s over for Cryptopia, the New Zealand cryptocurrency exchange that was hacked, losing an estimated $16 million. Most of those lost coins were Ethereum (ETH) and related ERC tokens. With no haircuts, investors, as well as the exchange’s stakeholders, had to count losses severely affecting the liquidity position of the once vibrant exchange.

Unfortunately for traders and investors, the repercussions took a heavy toll, and the crypto exchange is now in liquidation. Grant Thornton New Zealand, the official liquidator, made the announcement which was subsequently confirmed by Cryptopia,  a few hours after the exchange went for unscheduled maintenance.

David Ruscoe representing the liquidator, said:

“We realize Cryptopia’s customers will want to have this matter resolved as soon as possible. We will conduct a thorough investigation, working with several different stakeholders, including management and shareholders, to find the solution that is in the best interests of customers and stakeholders.”

Candlestick Arrangement



However, price action points at a different picture. Reflecting resilience–and an on-demand asset, the second most valuable coin is 40.3 percent in the last week. It’s up a massive 16.8 percent in the past 24 hours, matching the performance of Ripple (XRP) which is also on a solid uptrend.

In line with our last ETH/USD trade plan and development of the previous 24 hours, traders should fine-tune their positions in lower time frames as momentum build up. Already, hinting of underlying demand, bars are banding along the upper BB as it diverges from the 20-day MA.

Concurrently, ETH bulls are cementing their position above $200, and in a bull breakout pattern, it is likely that prices will expand towards $250, our first target and later $300. However, our ultimate aim stands at $450 or Q2 2018 lows.

Technical Indicator
Affirming our stance is increasing participation levels. From late Apr-2019, transaction volumes have more than doubled from around 100k to 242k of May-14. That is an express indication of demand, the perfect building blocks that will feed the next wave of higher highs first towards $250, $300 and later $450.

source: https://www.newsbtc.com/2019/05/15/ethereum-eth-bulls-rebuff-cryptopia-liquidation-race-to-450/

Ripple Price Analysis
Fundamentals
After five months of consolidation, Ripple (XRP) bulls are back—and with force. Trailing Bitcoin (BTC), XRP is the second top performing asset in the top-10, adding a massive 36.1 percent in the last week. However, the increasing volatility is timely for traders because it appears that Bitcoin—and most assets, are slowing down after six weeks of enormous gains. Behind today’s price spike is first, XRP changing hands cheaply. While Bitcoin and ETH are up upwards of 70 percent, XRP has been stable, tepid and ranging within 4 cents.

Additionally, the listing of Ripple (XRP) ETNs at Börse Stuttgart, the second largest regulated exchange in Germany and the ninth largest in Europe is noteworthy. Here’s what Jürgen Dietrich, Head of Trading at the exchange said:

“Interest in cryptocurrencies is still high. With the ETNs, investors in Germany can now for the first time through exchange-traded securities share in the performance of the major cryptocurrencies Litecoin and Ripple (XRP).”

However, there is more. There is a likelihood that the increasing tension between the US and China could see Wall Street sink channel funds to Ripple (XRP). The IMF has lauded the platform. Besides, Ripple Inc says they have a direct connection with the Trump administration, and they keep striking deals with banks.

Candlestick Arrangements


Price wise, Ripple (XRP) is up 25.7 percent in 24 hours, and because of that, bulls are back.

Not only is there is wide-ranging bull bar confirming buyers of Apr-26, but prices are trading above 34 cents complete with above average volumes meaning our XRP/USD trade plans are valid.

In that case, every dip, or retest of 34 cents, is but another buying opportunity with ideal targets at 40 cents, 60 cents and 80 cents as per our iterations.

Technical Indicators
From the chart, all our trade conditions are now correct. With today’s bar driving prices above 34 cents, triggering the first lot of XRP bulls complete with high volumes exceeding averages, bulls are in control and should load up on dips with targets as above.

source: https://www.newsbtc.com/2019/05/14/ripple-xrp-unshackled-at-this-rate-80-cents-is-inevitable/