Commodity Blog

Bitcoin prices have risen to test resistance at $7,600 for the first time in two weeks. The cryptocurrency has previously tested this level on December 23rd and December 9th. On both these occasions, it failed to breach the level, but investors will be hoping that the digital currency will perform better this time. Today’s rise comes after BTC fell below $7,000 on January 3rd. The move has seen altcoins increase their prices, with all of the top 10 making positive moves. It is Ripple that has enjoyed the greatest daily gains, increasing more than 10% against the dollar, after crypto exchange Binance announced Ripple futures trading.

Bitcoin finished December trading at $7,200. In the first few days of the new year, it saw a 3% slide with prices dipping to $6,950 on January 3rd. However, the fall was short-lived and the digital asset’s prices had recovered and increased to $7,400 by January 4th. Since then, BTC has posted steady gains, first pushing through $7,500 and then challenging $7,600, which has recently proven to be a resilient resistance level.

The cryptocurrency’s recent increase has coincided with an escalation in political tensions between the USA and Iran. Bitcoin’s price had been falling before the USA launched a drone strike in Iraq last Friday, killing Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. Although political analysts believe it is unlikely to lead to an all-out war, it does represent a significant increase in tension between the two countries. Some financial analysts have pointed to this growing geopolitical uncertainty as being a catalyst for Bitcoin’s price increases over the past three days.

Whatever the cause of Bitcoin’s price increase, it has pulled the rest of the cryptocurrency market up with it. All of the top ten coins, in fact, are showing green. Ripple, in particular, has seen significant gains. Since the beginning of November, the maligned crypto token had endured a torrid time. Its prices peaked at $0.31 on November 6th but by December 18th, it had slipped to $0.181. Having started today at $0.195, Ripple has since increased in price to $0.214, nearly a 10% gain on the dollar. Although a number of possible reasons for the price spike have been cited, the increase has come as major exchange Binance announced futures trading in XRP, offering up to 75x leverage on the cryptocurrency.

#Binance Futures Launches $XRP / $USDT Perpetual Contract With Up to 75x Leveragehttps://t.co/nEeG63XIvg pic.twitter.com/XjxX3DnByH

— Binance (@binance) January 6, 2020

Bitcoin (BTC) prices have increased 1.17% on the day, and BTC is now trading at $7,592.91. Ethereum (ETH) is up 3.22% at $141.85 while Ripple (XRP) prices are currently up 8.73% and the cryptocurrency is changing hands at $0.214. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) have both seen increases, posting 5.11% and 1.35% gains to trade at $237.27 and $44.63 respectively.

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