Cryptocurrency prices were mostly unchanged on Wednesday as the No. 1 digital currency continued to trade in a narrow range.
After pushing toward the $10,000 mark, the momentum has subsided and investors are wondering if the slowdown is a concern for digital currency owners.
“The lows are still getting higher, as are the highs and the fact we bounced off $9,000 this morning is a good thing,” said Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro. “Certainly a break of $10,000 would be good, but consolidation is great for adoption.”
The price of a single bitcoin
BTCUSD, +1.94%
last changed hands at $9,273.15, up 1.3% since Tuesday’s levels at 5 p.m. Eastern time on the Kraken exchange.
Record April for hedge funds
Despite the recent pullback, it’s been a fruitful period for owners of cryptocurrencies. According to Eurekahedge, a research and data providing firm specializing in hedge funds, the Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund Index gained 83.86% in April, its first positive month of the year.
EurekahedgeAdditionally, the April performance was the best monthly return since November 2013, likely on the back of the surge in altcoin prices. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rose 69.4% in April and Bitcoin Cash added 101%.
The index is an equally weighted index of seven constituent funds.
Winklevoss twins win patent right
In what is considered a win for the cryptocurrency industry, the Winklevoss twins have won a patent right that aims to settle exchanged-traded-products using cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, Ripple and Ether, among others.
The win is a further step toward what the founders of Gemini digital exchange hope will end in a fully regulated cryptocurrency ETF. In March 2017, the twins had a proposal for a bitcoin-tied ETF rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Altcoins and futures trade sideways
It’s a quiet start to Wednesday for both altcoins and bitcoin futures.
Ether
ETHUSD, +2.27%
is slightly higher at $747.75, Bitcoin Cash
BCHUSD, +6.71%
has gained 3.2%, trading at $1,614.30, Litecoin
LTCUSD, +1.02%
is unchanged at $157.79 and Ripple
XRPUSD, +0.92%
is off 0.6% at 80 cents.
The Cboe Global Markets Inc.’s May contract
XBTK8, +0.92%
is up 0.8% at $9,295 and the CME Group Inc. May contract
BTCK8, +0.76%
has added 0.5%, trading at $9,280.
