IOTA Wins the Race Against XRP Towards $0.5

Over the course of the past month or so, Ripple and IOTA have both been involved in a race to see which cryptocurrency could reach the $0.50 level first. Although these two cryptocurrency projects are not in direct competition with one another, during mid-May both cryptocurrencies were trading around the $0.43-$0.44 region as they both edged closer toward $0.50.

However, over the past 24 hours of trading, IOTA has surged ahead by a total of 19.82% and has smashed above the $0.50 level to reach $0.5140, effectively winning the race toward $0.50 by a landslide.

Source: CoinCheckup

Both cryptocurrencies have experienced respectable price increases over the past 30 trading days, with Ripple climbing by 51% and IOTA surging by 95%. Ripple still continues to dominate the 3rd position in the market cap rankings, as it presently holds an $18.95 billion market cap valuation. IOTA has now climbed from the 14th position to the 15th position, as it currently holds a $1.43 billion market cap valuation.

Let us continue to take a look at the IOTA/USD market and highlight some potential areas of support and resistance moving forward.

IOTA Price Analysis

IOTA/USD – MEDIUM TERM – DAILY CHART

What Has Been Going On?

Taking a look at the IOTA/USD chart above, we can see that, previous to the recent price surge, IOTA was struggling to overcome the resistance at the $0.44 level. The cryptocurrency managed to climb above the 200-day EMA, but ended up rolling over and falling back into support at the $0.3681 level.

After reaching this aforementioned support, IOTA/USD rebounded and shot above the $0.44 resistance level. We can see IOTA continued to climb higher to where it is currently trading at $0.5242. This price region also provided strong resistance for the market during November 2018, and is expected to provide strong resistance moving forward.

What Is the Current Trend?

The current trend is most certainly bullish. For this bullish trend to be invalidated, we would need to see IOTA drop beneath the $0.36 support level.

Where Is the Resistance Above $0.52?

If the buyers can continue to cause IOTA/USD to climb further higher above the current resistance at $0.5243, we can expect immediate higher resistance above the market to be located at the medium-termed 1.618 Fibonacci Extension level (drawn in purple), priced at $0.5329.

If the buyers can continue to push the market above $0.54, further higher resistance can then be found at the short-term 1.272 and 1.414 Fibonacci Extension levels (drawn in blue), priced at $0.5456 and $0.5810 respectively. Above this, further resistance is expected at $0.60 and then the short-term 1.618 Fibonacci Extension level (drawn in blue), priced at $0.6320.

What If the Sellers Step Back In?

Alternatively, if the sellers do step back in and push IOTA lower, we can expect strong support toward the downside to be located at $0.5242, $0.52, $0.5172, $0.51, and $0.50. Beneath $0.50, lower support is located at $0.49, $0.4584, and $0.43.

What Are the Technical Indicators Showing?

The RSI has recently reached overbought conditions, which could suggest that a brief retracement might occur over the following days, perhaps toward $0.50, before being able to tackle the $0.54 level.

Let us continue to take a quick look at the Ripple market and highlight the resistance that needs to be broken for it to reach $0.50

Ripple Price Analysis

XRP/USD – MEDIUM TERM – DAILY CHART

What Has Been Going On?

We can see that Ripple has also managed to rebound from the 200-day EMA at around $0.36, but the cryptocurrency is still having trouble breaking above the resistance at the $0.4579 level. The resistance at this region is strong due to the bearish .618 Fibonacci Retracement level (drawn in red), priced at $0.46 being located here.

Where Is the Resistance Toward $0.5?

If the buyers can continue to break above the $0.46 resistance level, Ripple will still need to contest resistance at the $0.48 level before being clear to make an attempt at $0.50. Above $0.50, further resistance can be expected at the bearish .786 and .886 Fibonacci Retracement levels (drawn in red), priced at $0.5098 and $0.5384.

Conclusion

These two projects are completely different in both use case and coin economics. However, during mid-May 2019, both Ripple and IOTA were attempting to break up above resistance at $0.44 to reach the $0.50 level. After a recent epic 20% price surge today, IOTA has now successfully beaten Ripple in reaching the $0.50 level. However, we can still expect Ripple to reach $0.50 in the coming days.