Winner-Turned-Loser ICON Tanks 40 Percent as Crypto Markets Falter

The last week of March has offered no relief to the battered crypto markets.

The total value of all cryptocurrencies fell to $251 billion today – the lowest level since November 23, according to CoinMarketCap. Week-on-week, total market capitalization has declined by 25.6 percent to $263 billion. That’s also down 68 percent from the record high of $830 billion seen in early January.

bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell to $6,617 in Asian hours today – its lowest level since Feb. 6. The cryptocurrency has depreciated 19.9 percent on a weekly basis.

Elsewhere, ether (ETH) today printed a fresh 2018 low of $368, as did bitcoin cash ($686) and Ripple’s XRP token ($0.48), while LTC dropped 28 percent, but is still holding well above the Feb. 6 low of $106.94.

That said, a look at the top 25 cryptocurrencies by market cap reveals that losses in ICON’s ICX token, lisk and nano far overshadow the drops seen with heavyweights like BTC, ETH, XRP – perhaps indicating that Twitter’s decision to ban ICO ads has not gone down well with the small-cap tokens.

Meanwhile, there is only one gainer among the 25 cryptocurrencies by market cap this week.

Week’s biggest losers

ICON

Weekly performance: -41.13 percent
All-time high: $12.04
Closing price on Mar. 23: $4.03
Current market price: $2.39
Rank as per market capitalization: 20

ICON’s ICX token, last week’s top gainer, took a beating in the week ended March 30, as the pain of profit taking was possibly accentuated by the broader market sell-off. The token had rallied 64 percent last week on the back of new exchange listing.

Although the rally was backed by strong volumes, the cryptocurrency failed to hold onto gains. The bearish 5-day moving average (MA) and 10-day MA cross seen on the daily chart (as per Binance), indicates a short-term bearish outlook.

The relative strength index (RSI) has also rolled over into bearish territory, thus immediate support at $1.87 (March 17 low) could be put to the test.

Lisk

Weekly performance: -35.41 percent
All-time high: $39.31
Closing price on Mar. 23: $12.03
Current market price: $7.77
Rank as per market capitalization: 22

Lisk (LSK) fell to $ 6.8826 on Bittrex – the lowest level since Dec. 10 – having faced rejection at the 200-day MA in the week ended March 16.

The investor community is associating lisk’s poor performance with developers’ unrealistic expectations, roadmap difficulties and delays. The broader market sell-off seems to have added fuel to the fire.

It’s worth noting that the cryptocurrency dropped 10.9 percent in the previous week, despite the positive tone in the crypto markets. So, it is no surprise that LSK ranks second on the list of the top losers in a bad week for cryptocurrencies.

Nano

Weekly performance: -35.53 percent
All-time high: $34.43
Closing price on Mar. 23: $8.11
Current market price: $5.39
Rank as per market capitalization: 24

Nano (NANO) takes the third spot on the list of top losers for the second week. The nano-bitcoin exchange rate (NANO/BTC) fell to 0.0007944 BTC today – its lowest since Feb. 22.

The cryptocurrency went live on n.exchange earlier this week, but that has failed to put a floor under prices. Further, investors are saying the developers need to put more effort into the marketing side of the business, or widespread adoption will be a distant dream. The negative sentiment, coupled with the wider market weakness could keep NANO under pressure in the coming weeks.

Week’s biggest gainer

Tron

Weekly performance: +6.12 percent
All-time high: $0.30
Closing price on Mar. 23: $0.041137
Current market price: $0.043654
Rank as per market capitalization: 11

Tron blockchain’s TRX token is standing tall as the only gainer in the top 25 this week – perhaps buoyed by the launch of its testnet (infrastructure for the Tron ecosystem) that garnered some attention in the investor community.

The TRX/USD pair listed on Binance remained bid above the 50-day moving average, but the weakness in the crypto markets ensured the cryptocurrency did not rise above $0.0576 (March 2 high). That said, resistance could be taken out next week if the crypto markets return to the positive. Additionally, the new testnet has reportedly gone live and could boost the appeal of the cryptocurrency.

Parachute image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Published at Fri, 30 Mar 2018 14:40:29 +0000

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January 7, 2018

What Is in Store for Cryptocurrency In 2018?

There were many predictions by so-called experts in 2017 and no one was able to predict it correctly. Most thought bitcoin was a bubble that was about to pop and others predicted moderate increases up to $4,000. No one expected it to get to around the $20,000 and even though it has dropped, it has still settled around the $15,000 mark. What the mainstream media seem to be forgetting are the huge returns it has made over the year than the occasional profits taking. Anyone with a Bitcoin Wallet with a sizeable amount held in it over the whole year made a fortune and the same will happen the year ahead.

In 2018 we are going to see a “regulation war” as Governments will try to control the decentralized product. It is going to be a very difficult task to control a bitcoin Wallet and one which is doomed to fail. Rather than fighting the crypto revolution, they should be embracing it. It will only take one country to adopt their own state cryptocurrency and the rest will have to follow. There have been many rumors that China and Russia are going to release their own cryptocurrency. If this happened, the 2017 boom in cryptocurrencies will look like a drop in the ocean.

By the end of 2018 bitcoin may not be the number one cryptocurrency. The Achilles heel of BTC is the high financial transaction costs and unless this is resolved it gives others a competitive edge over it. That is why we are seeing the rapid rise of bitcoin Cash as it is far cheaper and should be a solid investment for the year.

Ripple has the possibility to become the world’s leading cryptocurrency in 2018 and has pushed Ethereum into third place. With the banks and hedge funds now dipping their toes into the crypto market, these two digital currencies are their preferred choice. That could send the prices skyrocketing and transform the sector.

In 2018 expect ICOs to be in the news a lot as these have transformed the venture capital sector. This area of cryptocurrencies is going to be under a lot of scrutiny this year and it faces an epic battle with regulators. Expect many ICOs to fail but the ones that make it will make the initial investors extremely rich if they are brave enough to hold onto it for the next few years.

It is not just the financial system that is going to be revolutionized in 2018 as the technology behind cryptocurrencies (the Blockchain) is going to have a major impact on countless industries. The main sectors affected will be consumer goods and retail, democracy, and government. higher education, manufacturing, technology, telecommunications and media, transportation, resources, and healthcare.

Conclusion

2018 is going to be a roller coaster of a ride and as the worldwide economy gets worse, cryptocurrencies will benefit. The regulation battle is going to get dirty but due to the decentralized nature, it should be able to survive the war. We are going to see inflation get out of control in many parts of the world due to the collapse in fiat money. This will escalate the economic crisis and the solution to it is cryptocurrency. It only takes one government around the world to realize this and the revolution will make the boom of 2017 look like a tiny blip on the chart.

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