The cryptocurrency market  resumed the decline again – a pause before another bull’s assault?

• Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped under $8,500 and the downside momentum is gaining traction.
• Altcoins are range-bound with bearish bias ahead of the weekend.  

The cryptocurrency market resumed the decline during early Asian hours after a recovery stalled on approach to key technical levels. Bitcoin and all major altcoins are flashing red lights.  

The market capitalization of all digital assets in circulation settled at $230 slightly below $231 billion registered on Thursday, while an average daily trading volume slipped to $61 billion from $69 billion the day before. Bitcoin’s market settled at 66.8%  

Top-3 coins  price overview  

BTC/USD is trading under $8,500 handle down 1.7% since the beginning of Friday. A sustainable move below $8,500 might worsen the short-term technical picture, as the coin needs to move above the resistance area $8,600-$8,650 to proceed with the recovery towards  $9,000.
 
Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset with the current market capitalization of $20.8 billion, retreated from the recent high of $196.00 and slipped below critical $190.00. The coin resumed the decline during early Asian hours to trade at $188.50 at the time of writing.
   
Ripple’s XRP  topped at $0.2879 on October 9 and has been in retreat ever since. The third-largest digital asset with the current market value of $11.8 billion has lost 1.5% in recent 24 hours to trade at $0.2700 at the time of writing. The coin is moving inside a triangle pattern. Its upper boundary located on the approach to $0.2800 now serves as a strong resistance for the coin.