Atcoins have seen an uptrend over the November 18-19 weekend and are currently holding onto their gains. However, the prospect of a bitcoin Segwit2x hard fork revival could weigh on the already volatile altcoin market, with holders selling off to move into BTC and benefit from free coins in the event of a fork.
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Bitcoin cash (BCH) managed to recover from a significant sell-off.
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News that American Express and Santander will use Ripple’s blockchain technology for a cross border payment system drove XRP to a 4-week high.
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Litecoin’s recent upsurge can be attributed to news of the first BTC-LTC atomic swap hitting the wires.
Bitcoin Cash pares losses after tumbling to $888.21
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) faced headwinds on Friday, November 17, dipping into the red to sub-$900 levels. The altcoin managed to recover from the sell-off over the weekend. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash was up 2.42% on the day against the dollar, at $1205.20.
Bitcoin (BTC) hit a fresh all-time high on Sunday, November 19, breaking the $8,000 mark. The jump is attributed to rumors of a Segwit2x hard fork revival. The prospect of a bitcoin hard fork would most likely leave BCH in limbo, due to holders cycling out to move into BTC in search of the free coins earned in the event of a fork.
Ripple (XRP) stays above $0.22
Ripple (XRP) hit a four-week high of $0.27 on Thursday, November 16, before retreating into $0.22-$0.24 territory. At press time, XRP was up 2.05% on the day against the dollar, at $0.2372.
News that American Express and Santander will use Ripple’s blockchain technology for a cross border payment system drove XRP’s recent jump.
According to Ripple, a means of speeding up payments involving its cryptocurrency, XRP, has been successfully tested and might become a feature in its partnerships with banks, further down the line.
These positive developments are expected to drive XRP even further up in the months ahead. However, in the near-term, volatility is likely to persist.
Litecoin (LTC) holds above $70, continues march toward $75
Litecoin (LTC) has moved from sub-$60 levels to possibly make a run at $75 in the coming days. At the time of writing, LTC was holding onto its weekend gains, up 0.01% on the day (+17.68% on the week) against the dollar, at $71.720.
The rally can be attributed to news of the first bitcoin-litecoin atomic swap hitting the wires over the weekend. The Lightning Network brought to bitcoin with Segwit enables users to instantly exchange BTC for LTC and vice-versa. The first ever free, frictionless exchange between the two coins was sucessfully tested on the bitcoin testnet (not the actual live blockchain). Atomic swaps are believed to be a solution for decentralizing exchanges. Litecoin has already performed atomic swaps with Decred and Vertcoin, where the Lightning Network is also in the works.
Altcoin developments – Image source: Reid Douthat/Flickr