Cryptocurrencies stayed more or less range-bound during the past few days. A larger factor contributing to this were the Chinese New Year holidays. Bitcoin is currently quoted at $378.01, not even 50 cents above its price this time last week. Meanwhile Litecoin is trading at $3.08 dollars per coin, practically unchanged for the week.

Bitcoin Volatility Eases Into the Chinese New Year

We’ve seen  a noticeable drop in daily volatility during the past few days. Most of the largest bitcoin exchanges are based in China/Hong Kong and they’ve announced that USD deposits will not be processed until next Monday, February 15th. Deposits in Chinese Yuan will continue to be processed, albeit at a slower pace.

It’s hard to say if the current ranges will continue into next week. But periods of low volatility like these are usually followed by bursts of activity and breakouts, so let’s get prepared by looking at some of the important levels.

Although most of the downward momentum has been lost during the past few weeks of range-bound movement, Bitcoin is still technically in a downtrend. To end it, the bears will need to make a decisive break of the $392.50 swing high (marked on the chart above). Above here we have a potentially strong resistance at the round $400 dollars level. The hurdle to jump-start a new uptrend stands a bit higher at $425.50 dollars per coin.

On the downside, a strong support has formed around the $365 dollars figure. A decisive breakdown below this level could open the door toward the $350 dollars swing low reached last month. This is another strong support. More levels on the lower end can be found at the support area near $300-$310 dollars, followed by the round $250 dollars figure.

Litecoin Barely Changed This Week

Litecoin is trading barely changed this week. Compared to last Tuesday, prices have moved lower by only $0.17 cents, from $3.0866 to $3.0849, a move of around 0.05 percent. Let’s take a look at some of the important levels for Litecoin.

The downtrend in LTC prices could be over if the $3.18 swing high is decisively broken. Above here we find resistance at $3.33 dollars, followed by the $3.43 swing high. A clean break above here may start a new uptrend for Litecoin. We have more resistance on the way up at $3.50, $3.65 and $3.82 dollars per coin.

On the other end, some support can be found at the $3 dollars round figure. But this is followed by a much stronger support in the form of a triple bottom formation around $2.88-$2.89 dollars per coin. A decisive break of this support area could lead to more losses towards $2.70 and $2.50 dollars per coin.

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