Latest Crypto Prices: What's hot and what's not
The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, with prices rising and falling at a rapid pace. This can make it difficult to keep track of the latest prices. In this article, we will provide an overview of the latest crypto prices.
As of writing, the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Tether, EOS, Bitcoin SV, Stellar, and TRON.
Here's the daily (intra-day) price chart of the major cryptocurrencies since the beginning of 2018:
Bitcoin Cash's meteoric rise
After the fork of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on August 1st, the price of BCH started to rise. The BCH/USD exchange rate peaked at nearly $800 on August 10th. Since August 14th, however, the BCH/USD exchange rate has remained around $400.
On August 29th, the price of BCH hit $2,000 for the first time since early 2017. However, the price declined back below $1,000 during the next several days.
The biggest gainers among the major cryptocurrencies
The 1,000-percent price jump of Bitcoin Cash earlier this year was followed by several other large gains among the top 10 cryptocurrencies. On August 1st, Ripple (XRP) rose from under $0.2 to almost $0.85, representing a rise of more than 800 percent.
However, the biggest gains among the top 10 cryptocurrencies happened during the past two weeks.
In the short time frame of a week, Ethereum (ETH) has climbed from a low of $145 to $250. XRP has increased from around $0.20 to $0.85. Bitcoin Cash has increased from $1,000 to $2,000. Litecoin (LTC) has climbed from around $300 to $300. Bitcoin also has gained more than 25 percent since August 14th.
Why the cryptocurrency market has surged
The increased interest in Bitcoin by mainstream media and the introduction of several key developments such as futures trading and the $10,000 investment target by an anonymous bitcoin bull has triggered a huge inflow of new investors into the cryptocurrency market.
The strong entry of new investors and the influx of miners into the market has helped to stabilize the cryptocurrency market. The huge amount of cryptocurrencies in circulation and the low demand from legitimate investors have created a very competitive environment among the top cryptocurrency market players, which has driven the prices of several leading cryptocurrencies to new heights.
So far, the top cryptocurrencies have not been subjected to regulations by financial regulators and exchanges, which has given Bitcoin and the other large cryptocurrencies the leeway to skyrocket to new heights.
Iguana Labs, a Singapore-based exchange for digital assets, recently stopped margin trading and made all cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals completely free. For those who are planning to invest in cryptocurrency, Iguana's move seems like a good opportunity.
Indeed, the news about increasing the free withdrawal and margin trading (for trading only bitcoin) of cryptocurrencies is positive. Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum have returned to trading levels earlier seen in July before the long-term price increase was triggered. However, with more regulation coming from regulators, we can expect the prices of the top cryptocurrencies to go back to their earlier levels.
Conclusion
The last two months have seen the price of most cryptocurrencies skyrocketing to new levels, and the current cryptocurrency bull run appears to be far from over.
But to keep it short, the cryptocurrency market has the potential to become a highly competitive and fragmented market. This may lead to corrections, which may pull the prices down to the initial levels. The strong surge in the value of Bitcoin and other top cryptocurrencies in the past two months could be an indication that they are here to stay. But that doesn't mean that investors should rush to sell and cash out.
That is because other assets and futures contracts could give investors higher returns in the long run. For instance, traders can open a long position in Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin by buying shares of more mainstream assets such as gold (GLD) or equity futures contracts on the iShares US Commodity ETF (SCO).
However, investors are advised to buy cryptocurrencies at their current levels because some of them could reach the $20,000 price level within the next six months. While this bull run could last a few more months, there is a small chance that the price of some of the top cryptocurrencies could lose up to 70 percent of their value. However, this will only happen if their demand is substantially reduced.
