The initial slump began on Friday with a fall of 4% from just below $11,900 which resulted in Bitcoin hitting a ten-day low of $11,400 by Saturday morning. Since its 2020 high of just above $12,400 on August 17, Bitcoin has lost closer to 6% as it continues to correct. The asset managed to regain a little composure over the weekend, returning to the $11,650 level by the Monday morning trading session in Asia according to Tradingview.com. Crucial resistance lies at the $12k level and a break above this must come soon in order to avoid further losses. Analyst Josh Rager has been looking at longer term chart patterns noting that the weekly close has held at two-year resistance but support is still holding which is good for continuing upside momentum. Fellow analyst ‘CryptoHamster’ has also been observing the big picture stating that previous bull cycles have ended in July, however this time year it has continued and could be over-extended. On the daily chart, Bitcoin is still trading well above the two key indicators, 50 and 200-day moving averages, which is indicative of a bull market.
Elsewhere on crypto markets
Total market capitalization has remained around $365 billion this weekend which, while down from its peak last week, is still around the highest it has been this year. Ethereum has cooled off from its epic run which resulted in an almost doubling of price in less than a month. The digital asset has retreated back below $400 but is holding on to support above $390 which is still in bullish territory. The top movers over the past 24 hours include Litecoin, Tezos, Cosmos, NEM, and browser based BAT, while the rest have declined just marginally.
DeFi hits a new high
Decentralized finance (or DeFi) markets continue to lead the way in terms of gains with a new total value locked all-time high being hit over the weekend. The dollar equivalent in crypto collateral locked across all DeFi platforms has reached $6.8 billion according to Defipulse.com. So far this month, that figure has increased by 70% as investors pile into new yield farming opportunities in the rapidly evolving sector. Top-performing DeFi platforms at the time of writing include Aave, Balancer, and perpetual contracts platform MCDEX.
