Cryptocurrency market update: Major cryptos stay quiet on Saturday

• Bitcoin stays above $8,000 despite Friday’s heavy sell-off.
• Ethereum edges lower toward $180 after getting rejected near $200 earlier this week.
• Ripple remains on track to close the second straight week higher.

Major cryptocurrencies edged lower on Thursday and Friday and now seem to be staying in a consolidation phase amid a lack of significant drivers. Earlier in the week, the US  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  announced its decision to reject the latest application for a Bitcoin ETF by Bitwise and weighed on the cryptocurrency market’s sentiment.  

Top-3 coins price overview

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) rose to its highest level since the sharp drop witnessed on September 24th at $8,820 but failed to preserve its momentum and erased more than $500 from its highs before closing the day at $8,265. As of writing, the BTC/USD pair was trading at $8,310, adding 0.5% on a daily basis. Friday’s action also showed that for the third straight day, the pair tested the 200-day moving average, which is now located at $8,675, and failed to closed the day above that level.

With a decisive break above that level, the pair could target $8,970 (Fibonacci %78.6 retracement of June rally) ahead of $10,000 (psychological level/Fibonacci %61.8 retracement of June rally). On the downside, the immediate support is located at $8,300 (20-day MA), ahead of $7,700/$7,800 area (September 26th, September 30th, October 6th, October 7th low).

Ethereum (ETH/USD) rose to its highest level in more than three weeks at $197 on Friday but lost its traction before testing the critical $200 mark. Although there were no catalysts behind that fall, the BTC selloff weighed on the ETH. As of writing, the pair is up 1% on the day at $183. $185 (50-day MA) aligns as the initial resistance for the pair ahead of $200 (psychological level/October 11th high). On the flipside, $178 (20-day MA) could be seen as the first support before $170 (October 6th, October 7th low) and $152 (September 26th low).

Similar to the BTC’s and the ETH’s price action,  Ripple (XRP/USD) turned south in the second half of the week and posted modest losses on Thursday and Friday before staging a technical correction on Saturday. As of writing, the XRP/USD pair was up 1.7% on the day at $0.2726. Looking at the daily chart, the Relative Strength Index indicator is edging higher above the 50 mark despite the recent drop, suggesting that buyers remain control of the price action. $0.29 (October 9th high) could act as the first resistance on the upside for the pair ahead of $0.3 (psychological level) and $0.3270 (September 18th low). On the downside, $0.25/$0.26 (20-day MA/50-day MA) could be the first technical support ahead of $0.2125 (Sep. 24 low) and $0.20 (psychological level).