Speculative traders are taking profit of short-term longs above $4,000, says research firm
Any bitcoin revival is on hold as the price of the world’s best-known cryptocurrency trades back below $4,000.
After bouncing more than 20% of its low, bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.39% has surrendered close to half of the gains and was last trading at $3,988.91, down 5.2% since Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange. Earlier in the session bitcoin traded to an intraday low at $3,893.31.
What are strategists saying
Analysts at U.K.-based research firm FX Pro Insights said the selling above $4,000 is most likely short-term traders booking some profits. “The real question is: Has the crypto market indeed reached the bottom?” they wrote.
“Many market participants have decided to take an optimistic approach and BTC’s decline to $3500 was an important support point for the cryptocurrency. Within this context, it should be noted that speculators may soon begin to profit from this trend, which may trigger a new wave of sales,” FX Pro Insights analysts wrote.
Altcoins stumble again
Altcoins, or coins other than bitcoin, were on track for consecutive losing sessions. Ether ETHUSD, -1.37% was down 2% at $112.80, Litecoin LTCUSD, -1.31% has tumbled 4.8% at $31.50, XRP XRPUSD, -1.76% has slid 4% to 36 cents, and Bitcoin Cash BCHUSD, -3.01% is off 2.3% at $172.40.
Bitcoin futures traded lower on Friday. The Cboe Global Markets December contract XBTZ8, -5.01% ended the session down 3.8% to $3,935 while the CME Group December contract BTCZ8, -6.71% fell 5.7% to $3,930.
