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(Kitco News) - The cryptocurrency market pulled back on Friday afternoon as traders looked to book profits following a breakout in prices in the wake of the U.S. court ruling that XRP is not a security. XRP is down 11.8% on the 24-hour chart after the token surged into overbought territory on Thursday, hitting its highest price since December 2021.
New survey data showing Americans are becoming increasingly confident in the economy pushed stocks higher early on Friday, but the momentum faded as the day progressed, leading to a mixed close for the major indices. The S&P and Nasdaq finished the day in the red, down 0.10% and 0.18%, respectively, while the Dow managed to hold onto its gains and close up 0.34%.
Data provided by TradingView shows that Bitcoin’s (BTC) price showed weakness during the morning session before being hit with a rapid selloff in the afternoon that dropped the top crypto to a daily low of $30,015. Bulls have since bid its price back above $30,300, which has been a consistent level of support since June 21.
BTC/USD Chart by TradingView
“August Bitcoin futures prices [were] slightly weaker in early U.S. trading Friday, after hitting a contract high Thursday,” said Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff.
Bitcoin futures 1-day chart. Source: Kitco
“The bulls have gained the firm overall near-term technical advantage and are trying to move prices above the recent choppy and sideways trading range,” Wyckoff added. “Bulls will have to show more power very soon to confirm a bullish upside price “breakout” from that trading range.”
The Bitcoin dominance chart also provided clues to the weakening momentum for Bitcoin, with MN Trading founder Michaël van de Poppe saying the chart “looks like it's reaching itself towards a potential top.”
Bitcoin Dominance. Source: MN Trading
Poppe noted that the market cycle in 2019 offers a good comparison to the current market, “where ten-twelve months prior to the Bitcoin halving, sentiment surrounding altcoins is at the lowest levels of the cycle. This is also reflected in the overall interest in the market and activity on social media.”
“Regarding the Bitcoin dominance chart, it seems more and more likely that we'll be reversing trend and reject ourselves from the 200-Week MA and EMA here,” he said. “That means? Great period to accumulate your positions into altcoins.”
As for how low Bitcoin could go in the short term, market analyst Crypto Tony said that he has his eye on support around $29,500 as a good entry point for a long position.
$BTC / $USD - Update
— Crypto Tony (@CryptoTony__) July 14, 2023
$29,500 is the range low and an area i am looking to be tapped. I will look to scalp a long if we tap it and bounce back into the range .. Would be a classic weekend if this plays out pic.twitter.com/RSrNOMuMcw
Altcoin traders take profits
It was a red day overall for the altcoin market as traders moved to realize the gains they made over the past day and a half.
Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360
Synthetix (SNX) was the one notable exception on Friday, with its price increasing by 30.7% to trade at $2.81, while Thursday’s top gainers XRP, Stellar (XLM) and MobileCoin (MOB) saw the biggest declines on the last day of the business week, dropping 15.76%, 12.33%, and 11.8%, respectively.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.2 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 48.6%.
