Bitcoin meets resistance at $12,000, as Ripple scores a bounce

Story by: AARON HANKIN

After an unsteady stretch of trade for equity investors, those in the cryptocurrency market fared better as digital-currency prices extended recent gains over the weekend. The biggest benefactor, thus far, has been Ripple, which is rumored (once again) to be heading to a popular exchange.

The No.1 digital currency, bitcoin BTCUSD, +1.18%  hit a two-week high, trading to an intraday high of $11,599.16 before drifting back to $11,501.04, up 0.2% on the day, in recent action.

Bitcoin faces resistance at $12,000 mark

Bitcoin has been testing key resistance ahead of the $12,000 level, which it has failed at twice since late January. The first rejection saw the price tumble more than 50%, but with the second rejection much shallower, market technicians see a high likelihood of third campaign at that level.

“Technically, speaking as long as the February low remains intact, the path of the least resistance is firmly skewed to the upside,” said Naeem Aslam, chief Market Analyst at ThinkCoin.

Will Ripple ever be traded on Coinbase?

The bounce in crypto prices was further buoyed by talks that Ripple, and its XRP coin, could be traded on the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

“What is very interesting today is the move in Ripple and if Coinbase adds Ripple to its platform, we would see higher interest among investors and the price could should further. Confidence in Ripple would also help the Bitcoin price where the odds are skewed for a further upward move,” Aslam added.

To be sure, there have been numerous rumors about Ripple making a debut on Coinbase, as recently as January, that have been shot down.

Elsewhere, Ether is trading at $865.71, unchanged on the day, Bitcoin cash is down 0.3% at $1,286.08 and Litecoin is up 0.3% at $214.77, according to news and research firm CoinDesk.

Original story: https://tinyurl.com/yd6omlxy

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