Ethereum eyes 3-week winning streak vs. Bitcoin as BTC price drifts below $39K

Bitcoin (BTC) headed lower on Thursday after an attempt to reclaim $40,000 failed to garner buyer support. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD dropping to local lows of $38,700 on Bitstamp, down around 1.5% in several hours. The largest cryptocurrency had benefited considerably from remarks by Gary Gensler, the new Chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, on Tuesday, but momentum stalled at the psychologically significant $40,000 mark.

Thursday’s dip took away the prospect of flipping the 21-week exponential moving average (EMA) — one of several eyed by analysts this week — as firm new support. Meanwhile, on-chain indicators once again contrasted with middling BTC price action. In particular, Thursday revealed the extent of long-term holder (LTH) Bitcoin accumulation, this reaching new all-time highs: More of the BTC supply was now in the hands of LTHs than ever before.

On altcoins, Ether (ETH) dominated the conversation amid bullish forecasts for fresh price gains, while the ETH/BTC pair is headed for its third consecutive green weekly candle. Ethereum’s token could reach new local highs in the coming months after its latest successful hard fork, analysts forecast as strength against Bitcoin continued.

ETH/BTC hit 0.0693 on Wednesday, the date of the hard fork deployment — its highest in nearly two months. A local resistance point, the 0.07 BTC level has yet to reappear since the Bitcoin-inspired market drawdown began in May.

Ethereum eyes 3-week winning streak vs. Bitcoin as BTC price drifts below $39K, Cointelegraph, Aug 5