The multi-week ongoing correction in the crypto market finally seems to have come to an end, with the total market cap steadily recovering to reach a recent high of $520 billion early on Feb 18th. However, trade volumes are still relatively thin, suggesting that a lot of traders are yet to have their confidence fully restored.
Source: Coinmarketcap
This is further supported by the minor correction that occurred mid way through Feb 18th, where the markets quickly dropped by roughly 10% before recovering around the $490 billion level. Potentially caused by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterins statement emphasising the risks involved with investing in crypto, which was unfortunately picked up by various news outlets such as Business Insider.
Reminder: cryptocurrencies are still a new and hyper-volatile asset class, and could drop to near-zero at any time. Don’t put in more money than you can afford to lose. If you’re trying to figure out where to store your life savings, traditional assets are still your safest bet.
— Vitalik Buterin (@VitalikButerin) February 17, 2018
The fact that any minor FUD can lead to a correction shows the market is still fairly fearful. Bitcoin climbed way past the $10,000 psychological level to reach a high of $11,300 before dipping to around $10,600 during the same correction. Steady growth is healthier for long run market growth, with the minor Bitcoin sell off suggesting we are still a way off greed seeping back in.
Litecoin was the one to watch this week though, up 42% on the previous week, it outperformed the markets by a significant margin. This was partly due to the upcoming release of Litepay, but also due to investors buying up Litecoin ahead of the Litecoin Cash hard fork.
