Altcoins are trading stable after big brother bitcoin shrugged off yesterday’s announcement for a new bitcoin auction. The US Marshall Service will sell 50,000 BTC that used to belong to Ross Ulbricht, the now convicted mastermind behind Silk Road 1. After this sale the USMS will have 44,000 coins left in its possession. The auction will occur on March 5th as and usual, it will be in two parts: Series A (10 blocks of 2,000 bitcoins), and Series B (10 blocks of 3,000 bitcoins).

Bitcoin dipped around 1.5 percent on the news but has since recovered the losses and is back to trading above the $230 figure. This market reaction contrasts with the major sell-offs we saw during the previous two auction announcements. It remains to be seen what will happen in the lead up to the auction. In previous instances, the sell-off (which didn’t happen here) was countered by a rally that nullified the losses but ultimately the direction was determined by the result on auction day. Market participants may adopt a ”wait and see approach” and hold off on making decisions until after March 5th. The technical levels to watch are $266 on the upside and $210 on the downside. A move above $266 would restart the rally. Reversely, a break below $210 would likely end it. A further move below the $200 round figure may trigger a new downtrend in BTC prices.

Namecoin Bounces Off $0.55

Alternative cryptocurrency Namecoin bounced right off the $0.55 level on Sunday. The $0.550 high was reached right as bitcoin bounced off the important $266 mark. The bounce confirms the importance of both of these levels as a potential breakout points.

What we said in our article 7 days ago still applies. If Namecoin can take out $0.55, prices may rally toward the January 26th swing high at $0.65. Higher up, $0.70 and $0.75 may act as resistance levels. On the downside, we have weak support at $0.40. This is followed by this year’s low at $0.379. A NMC break below here could lead to more losses.

Peercoin Mostly Unchanged at $0.38

Peercoin is trading mostly unchanged compared to last week. The cryptocurrency has calmed down quite a bit after an explosive 50 percent rally followed by a 31% fall nine days ago.

The half-parity level at $0.50 will be important. If the bulls can clear this mark we may rally toward the December 29th swing high near $0.60. Higher still, the previous support area between $0.70 and $0.73 may now turn to resistance on the way up. On the downside, the important number to watch is $0.24, this year’s low in PPC prices. A move below $0.24 could lead to a resumption of the downtrend.

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