Bitcoin Rally Continues but Altcoins Still Weak

Petar Kotevski -

The rally in bitcoin prices continues. Yesterday BTC/USD broke past $276 per coin and moved up to a high of $289.89. Today the move up extended with BTC making a new high at $293.70. But altcoins are still trading weak and seem unwilling to follow big brother higher. Both Peercoin and Namecoin are still well within their trading ranges. And while Litecoin briefly broke $2 dollars today, it has yet to clear the area and rally higher.

Litecoin Pushing on $2 Dollars

Alternative cryptocurrency Litecoin has largely missed the substantial bitcoin move up. Since prices broke out of the range at $266 on March 2nd, bitcoin has been in rally mode. Litecoin on the other hand has yet to break free from its congestion area. The daily chart below shows this range with a yellow rectangle.

Prices today got as high as $2.0499 before falling back. The subsequent sell-off took LTC/USD back to $1.96. We are currently quoted at $1.9930. If LTC can clear the area and break above $2.05, the next resistance stands at $2.40. Notable levels above here include $2.70, $3 dollars and $3.40 per coin. On the lower end, since LTC/USD is still trading within its range, the low of the congestion at $1.66 continues to be valid. A decisive move below here could trigger a new downtrend in LTC prices.

Peercoin Fails to Rally

Peercoin failed to stage any noticeable move up. Since March 2nd, the crypto is only up by 1 cent, or 2.4 percent. This compares with bitcoin’s gain of 8.3 percent. As we can see on the next chart, PPC/USD is tucked well inside the range between 30 and 50 cents per coin.

If Peercoin can clear the half-parity level at $0.50, the next resistance level to look out for is $0.60. This is followed by the previous support area between $0.70 and $0.73 that may turn into resistance on the way up. On the lower end, the  number to watch is $0.24, the yearly low for Peercoin. A break below here could intensify PPC losses.

Namecoin Continues Range-Bound Trading

Namecoin continues to trade in a range between $0.40 and $0.55. The altcoin gained slightly over 1 cent since bitcoin started its rally on March 2nd, around 2.6 in percentage terms.

A breakout beyond $0.55 may push prices toward the January 26th swing high at $0.65. Further up, we have more resistance levels at $0.70 and $0.75. On the downside, the key support between this year’s  Namecoin low at $0.379 and the range’s low at $0.40 still stands. A clearing of this area should renew the downtrend.