Bitcoin broke the important $266 mark on Tuesday and rallied higher to $282.99. But altcoins haven’t followed big brother higher. While they did move up somewhat on Tuesday and Wednesday, altcoins remain well inside their congestion areas. Litecoin continues to trade between $1.66 and $2 dollars per coin. Peercoin and Namecoin are stuck in their own ranges as well.

Peercoin Still in Range Between $0.30 and $0.50

Alternative cryptocurrency Peercoin is still trading in its range between 30 and 50 cents per coin. Prices are currently quoted at $0.378, just 1.5 cent higher compared to last week.

On the upside, the important levels start with  the $0.50 figure. A clearing of this level may trigger a rally toward the December 29th swing high at $0.60. Higher up, the previous support area between $0.70 and $0.73 may turn into resistance on the way up. On the lower end, the key number to watch is $0.30. A move below here could lead to a momentum move that takes out $0.24, the yearly low for Peercoin. This could intensify the losses for PPC/USD.

Namecoin Still Trading Between $0.40 and $0.55

Namecoin is still trading in its congestion area between $0.40 and $0.55. Since our last update, the crypto’s range has narrowed further with a high at $0.524 and the low at $0.467. We are currently quoted at $0.487. This compared to $0.468 during our update 7 days ago.

A move above $0.55 may push prices toward the January 26th swing high at $0.65. Above here, we have two more resistance levels close by at $0.70 and $0.75. On the downside, the key support lays between this year’s  NMC low at $0.379 and the range’s low $0.40. A clearing of this area and a move lower should trigger a new downtrend in Namecoin prices.

Bitcoin in Rally Mode Ahead of Auction

Unlike its younger siblings, bitcoin has been in rally mode for the past few days. Prices took out the important $266 mark on Tuesday and despite yesterday’s large retracement, BTC/USD is still trading above the level right now.

The next important resistance for BTC is the $300 round figure. A break above $305 could exacerbate the gains toward $334. On the lower end, a pullback below $250 should be a cause for worry to the bulls but the rally will technically remain in place until $225 gives way.

The third bitcoin auction is scheduled to take place today. The bidding will commence at 14:00 CET (8 AM EST) and will last for 6 hours. The US Marshall Service will auction off 50,000 BTC this time around. The USMS will only release the name of the winner and not the price per coin bid. But other figures released by the agency on Monday, like the number of registered bidders and bids received, may help us gauge buyer interest. The market may start to move well before that however. In previous instances volatility increased few hours after the auction closed, so stay vigilant.

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