It’s been a mostly uneventful week in the altcoin market. Peercoin is trading at $0.395 compared to $0.402 last week. Namecoin is quoted at $0.373 compared to $0.389 last Thursday.

Peercoin Little Changed

While PPC prices slowly drifted lower to $0.395 from $0.402 last week, it hasn’t been a smooth sailing. The spike on  July 3 took us to a high of $0.429 per coin. This is now the new ‘watermark’ for Peercoin. A decisive breakout above the 43 cents level would end the short-term downtrend. The threshold for a new rally is set a bit higher at 51 cents per coin.

Things are not looking clearer on the higher time-frames either. While the medium-term chart is slightly bearish, the long-term (monthly) trend is neutral.

On the lower end we have a support at the $0.339 swing low followed by May’s low at $0.323. A break below here could open the door to the round 30 cents figure. Close to here we find another support at last August low of $0.291 per coin. A clearing of this entire support area could lead to intensified PPC losses toward the multi-year low at $0.211.

Namecoin Still in a Downtrend

Alternative cryptocurrency Namecoin is still in a short-term downtrend. In the past hour we saw the losses accelerate with prices falling from $0.384 to $0.364 before stabilizing somewhat.

Below the current prices support can be found at last month’s low of $0.324. A clearing of this support could lead to more losses toward the round 30 cents figure. Last year’s low at $0.274 is another important milestone. A break below here could intensify the down move.

We would need to see a decisive break of the $0.414 swing high to end the current bearish trend. A move above the $0.538 swing high would jump-start a new NMC rally. Similarly to PPC, the medium-term trend is slightly bearish while the long-term trend is neutral.

Bitcoin Waits for Direction

As we’ve repeatedly written, moves in Bitcoin tend to have a large effect on the altcoin market. Usually, losses for Bitcoin mean losses for the smaller cryptos as well, especially against the U.S. Dollar.

So, let’s take a look at some Bitcoin levels. The short-term trend here is neutral. A break above $744 on FXOpen and $795 on other USD exchanges would restart the rally. On the other hand, a move below $540-$560 on most exchanges and $522 on FXOpen would start a new trend lower. For Bitcoin both the medium-term and long-term trends are bullish.

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