Cryptocurrency market is till very volatile in early 2018, with Ether being in the forefront, following bitcoin, the undisputed leader.
For most traded cryptocurrencies, South Korea being ready to pass the law banning digital currency trading caused serious stress. The country’s minister of justice said earlier this week that there had been major concerns regarding cryptocurrencies, and some protective measures could be taken.
There is no exact info on this bill so far, but one can guess it will deal with the cryptocurrency anonymity that enables money laundering. In practice, this wording may refer to any government’s intention.
You may probably ask why the investors are so sensitive to the news coming from South Korea. This is all very simple: this country has one of the largest financial markets with the cryptocurrencies being highly in demand.
In this light, Ether lost nearly 16% over the last two days, pulling back from its high at $1,378 all the way to $1,183. Technically, the overall trend is still ascending, while there are even reasons for this trend to gain more momentum. The buyers are soon going to get back to action, and their target is now around $1,440-$1,443, or even $1,500. $1,655 is a long term target that could be achieved in the coming few months.
In the short term, Ether can well move even lower, to $1,040 or $1,047, where a strong support lies. If the price fails to reach this goal and the market manages to revert upwards, the upcoming ascending wave ay be stronger than the previous one.
With more ‘fresh money’ coming towards Ether, its momentum is becoming stronger. In terms of volatility, Ether now resembles Bitcoin with constant sentiment changes; the difference is that Ether cap has still a great growth potential. Over the last financial year, it increased to $131 billion, which put Ether second in the list of top cryptocurrencies by market cap. This year, even the most cautious analysts predict this could rise by 15% or 20% more.
Overall expectations regarding Ether in 2018 are quite positive. We have already mentioned the target at $1,500, although Ether has even more potential after it broke out the important price level at $1,280. Many things for Ether depend on how widespread it is, and in this light watching South Korea news is a good idea.
Disclaimer: Forecasts presented in this section only reflect the author’s private opinion and should not be considered as guidance for trading. RoboForex bears no responsibility for trading results based on trading recommendations described in these analytical reviews.
Dmitriy Gurkovskiy is a senior analyst at RoboForex, an award-winning European online foreign exchange forex broker.