Despite all attempts to break above $35k again last Wednesday, bitcoin started a sharp correction, reaching a low of $33,100, thus falling more than 5% in a few hours. So far, there is no detailed data to explain this fall.

That said, the latest major news affecting bitcoin came earlier this week, when China confirmed its rejection of cryptocurrencies by introducing new bans.

In terms of technicals, bitcoin is currently in contact with the uptrend line that has been seen in hourly data since 23 June, which currently stands at $33k. Thus, a drop in BTC/USD below the $33k threshold would be a double bearish signal.

The next support for the declining digital currency will be the direction of $32,500-32,600 to the low reached on 26 June at $30,300 and the major psychological threshold of $30k.

Bitcoin will be saved by a return to above $35k and the resilience for its hourly data to start improving.

As for the world’s second most popular cryptocurrency, etherium, although it also fell yesterday, it is making much more positive progress than bitcoin did the day before, meaning that its current profile on the hourly data chart remains rather bullish.

If ETH/USD falls below its $2,200 threshold, we will see a challenge to its current positive profile, which will then be reversed if it returns below the $2,000 threshold. But the $2,400 area is the first major resistance for this currency. It remains a bigger benchmark than Bitcoin despite the declines the two cryptocurrencies saw last night.

Earlier this week, investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) discussed the differences between the two cryptocurrencies and even explained why it prefers Ethereum over Bitcoin. In its research note, the bank noted its advantage as its huge potential for real use, since its platform is the most popular platform for developing smart contract applications. It is this advantage that could eventually lead to Ethereum surpassing Bitcoin and taking the place of the first cryptocurrency, especially considering Bitcoin’s glaring weakness – it has a limit of 7 transactions per second, so it is unlikely to be viable for everyday use.

However, in the debate between cryptocurrencies and a traditional “safe haven” such as gold, Goldman Sachs prefers the latter, believing that neither ETH nor BTC will compete with the yellow metal anytime soon.

“Gold competes with cryptocurrencies to the same extent that it competes with other risk assets such as stocks and cyclicals. We view gold as a defensive hedge against inflation and cryptocurrency as a hedge against inflation risks,” Goldman said.

This opinion is supported by too many different tokens currently circulating on the market (almost 11 thousand of them), and competition between cryptocurrencies creates another risk factor.