The divergence between bitcoin and altcoin prices continues. While BTC/USD hit a new high of $298.99 on Tuesday, Peercoin and Namecoin are still trading well inside their ranges. While Litecoin has been pushing on the high of its congestion area at $2 dollars, it is still unable to break it.

Bitcoin Bounces Off $300

Bitcoin bounced off the important $300 level late on Tuesday. We’ve noted this area as important resistance so it’s not surprise that prices stopped to catch their breath here. The chart below shows why $300 is important.

This number stopped two large bitcoin moves higher back in January. The first one got as high as $301.01 before falling back. The second went a step further, rallying to $303.30 before the bears knocked down the pair again. Given the importance of this area, expect to see a lot of games being played around it (false breaks etc). If BTC/USD can climb above here, preferably by going over $305 or better yet $310, we may see extended gains toward $334. Notable resistance levels further up can be found at $350 and $370. On the lower end, a decisive move below $250 would end the current rally. But to jump-start a new downtrend, bitcoin will need to take out $225 per coin as well.

Litecoin Still Below $2 Dollars

Alternative cryptocurrency Litecoin has yet to clear the high of its range at $2 dollars and stage a breakout. While bitcoin rallied over 17 percent in March, LTC only managed to gain about 10 percent during the same time period.

The chart above shows LTC/USD still struggling to break $2 dollars. The high reached on Tuesday at $2.0499 is still unbroken. A clearing of $2 dollars and stabilization of prices above the mark may open the door for a sustainable LTC rally. The first important resistance above here stands at $2.40 with other notable levels higher at $2.70, $3 dollars and $3.40 per coin. On the downside, a breakdown below the low of the range at $1.66 may start a downtrend for Litecoin. Important support levels below here include $1.50 and $1.05. The area from the parity level at $1 to the January 15th swing low at $1.05 will be important support for Litecoin. The downtrend will intensify if LTC/USD can clear out this area and take out the $1 dollar parity level in the process.

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