Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Cryptos to retrace before the bull run

• Bitcoin price slows down its ascent after flipping the $42,748 hurdle into a foothold.
• Ethereum price contemplates a retracement after facing the 50-day SMA at $3,208.
• Ripple price looks ready for consolidation after a 51% ascent over the past four days.

Bitcoin price rally is slowing, allowing bulls to take a breather before the next leg-up. While some might argue the short-term outlook looks bearish – due to the flash crash in January, the bigger picture reveals cryptocurrency markets still have the potential to go higher.

A Wells Fargo report published in February reveals that cryptocurrency adoption is growing exponentially and, in many cases, resembles the growth curve of internet adoption. The American financial corporation even goes on to state the crypto sector could soon exit the initial phases of adoption and enter “an inflection point of hyper-adoption.”

Wells Fargo Report: Internet usage history vs crypto users

Bitcoin price at a decisive moment

Bitcoin price rallied 25% in the last four days and set up a swing high at $45,539. The rally rippled out, triggering copycat moves in other altcoins and the cryptocurrency market in general. Yet BTC failed to produce a daily candlestick close above the breaker’s upper limit at $44,387. So, as a result, the bearish outlook is still in play.

Investors should be prepared for anything between a minor retracement and a full-blow bear trap. An optimistic scenario will likely see BTC retest the weekly support level at $39,481 before triggering the next leg-up.

A more pessimistic scenario, however, would speculate that Bitcoin price could crash to $34,752. A breakdown of this support floor could be the key to triggering a crash to $30,000 or lower.

BTC/USD 1-day chart

While things look on the fence for Bitcoin price, a daily candlestick close above $44,387 will invalidate the bearish thesis. A bullish regime, however, will only kick-start if BTC produces a daily candlestick close above $52,000.

Ethereum price takes a breather

Ethereum price seems to be undergoing a pullback as it faces off with the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $3,208 while still hovering inside a bearish breaker, extending from $2,789 to $3,167.

A rejection here could lead to a retracement to $2,812, where buyers have a chance at restarting the uptrend. Assuming the bullish momentum picks up, there is a good chance ETH could slice through the $3,208 and make a run for the $3,413 hurdle.

The local top for Ethereum price could be capped around the convergence of the 50-day and 100-day SMAs at roughly $3,600.

ETH/USD 1-day chart

On the other hand, if Ethereum price fails to stay above $2,812, it will indicate that buyers are taking a backseat. This development will invalidate the bullish scenario and trigger a crash to the weekly support level at $2,324.

Ripple price to reestablish directional bias

Ripple price broke out of its ten-day consolidation and rallied 51% in just four days. This run-up sliced through the $0.740 and $0.817 hurdles, flipping them into support levels. While this climb was impressive, XRP price is likely to retrace as investors begin to book profits.

The resulting selling pressure could push Ripple price down to the $0.740 support level where buyers can band together for a comeback. In some cases, the U-turn might not arrive until a retest of the $0.595 to $0.632 demand zone.

Regardless, investors can expect XRP price to run up to $1 and collect the liquidity resting above it.

XRP/USD 1-day chart

On the contrary, if the Ripple price fails to stay above the $0.595 to $0.632 demand zone, it will reveal the lack of bullish momentum and hint that a further descent is likely. In this case, XRP price will sweep below the $0.518 support level to collect the sell-side liquidity resting beneath.