Crypto Price Today: Bitcoin holds $29,000; Ethereum trades at $1,900; Avalanche & Solana gain up 3%

Bitcoin and top crypto tokens were sidelined on Friday despite the renewed unrest in the US Banking sector and slowing growth of the world's largest economy. However, the majority of the digital tokens were able to hold their gains. Traders are awaiting the US Fed's meeting next week.

Bitcoin continued to move higher as the largest crypto asset rose more than one per cent to hover around the $29,000 mark. Its largest peer, Ethereum, was flat, almost unchanged but held the $1,900 level. The action in the altcoin was limited during the early hours of Friday.

Crypto markets have traded sideways in the last 24 hours. BTC is trading in the $29,000 range, up over a per cent in the last 24 hours as unrest in the banking sector resurfaces and US’ economic growth slowdown. ETH, too, is trading neutral above $1,900, said Parth Chaturvedi, Crypto Ecosystem Lead at CoinSwitch

"Investors are looking forward to the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting next week. General expectation revolves around another but last interest rate hike from the Feds amidst recession concerns," he said.

Barring the top names, all top crypto tokens were trading with mild gains on Friday. Other than US dollar-pegged stablecoins and Etheruem, only Shiba and BNB were down up to 2 per cent. Among the gainers, Solana jumped about 3 per cent, while Avalanche was up 2 per cent.

The global cryptocurrency market cap was trading quite higher, hovering around the $1.21 trillion mark as it jumped almost a per cent in the last 24 hours. However, the total trading volumes tanked about 31 per cent to $48.42 billion.

A sudden 8 per cent drop in Bitcoin on April 26, which took the price to $27,242, was followed by a quick recovery driven by concerns about the US economy and the banking industry. Bitcoin could potentially break through this level and reach the next $30,000 resistance level, presenting buying opportunities up to $30,800, said Sathvik Vishwanath, Co-Founder & CEO, Unocoin.

"The Relative Strength Index (RSI), Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and 50-day exponential moving average indicate a bullish trend. The crypto market was highly volatile the entire week thus liquidating entire longs and shorts, but overall remained bullish," he said.

Tech View by Giottus Crypto Platform

Bitcoin (BTC) has been subjected to intense volatility lately. On Wednesday night, it dropped nearly 10% within an hour and is yet to reclaim the $30,000 level back. While it bounced technically on its 50-day EMA, it is shaping up to show a potential market structure change with a lower low.

Bulls may find this reason to cheer though, as BTC has successfully retested both its 50-day EMA and 200-day EMA in 2023. The first time this occurred, it led to a healthy 25% rise in price. Waiting for a confirmation of a break of the previous high of $31,000 will be ideal for going long hereon.

Major levels

Support: $29,000, $27,350

Resistance: $30,000, $31,000

(Views and recommendations given in this section are the analysts' own and do not represent those of Business Today. Please consult your financial adviser before taking any position in the asset/s mentioned.)