Projections made earlier this year by analysts who believed that Bitcoin would reach the $10,000 level are taking effect, and the new target of $12,000 is now within sight; however, the world's most valuable digital currency is now trading in a sideways pattern that shows spikes of volatility. Heavy trading was registered on the major exchange market over the Fourth of July holiday, but it was mostly sideways. By Friday, swings of $150 rocked the markets, and day traders jumped in to make a quick buck, but even this activity failed to propel BTC above $11,500.

Bitcoin was not the only cryptocurrency trading sideways. Ethereum and Ripple showed similar behavior ahead of the weekend following the Fourth of July, which suggests that many traders planned a long holiday weekend for watching the markets. Things got hectic when BTC/USD touched the $13,000 mark on June 26, thus sparking a sudden retreat that sent the cryptocurrency down to its resistance level of $10,000. The infamous "fear of missing out" seems to be playing a part in the ongoing rally; quite a few new BTC wallets have been created in recent days, but day traders are sweeping profits off the table at a frantic pace.

As for ETH/USD, the second most valuable digital currency in the world was dancing around the $300 mark just before the weekend, and trading action was mostly sideways. Ripple, which trades under the XRP symbol, is also caught in a sideways trading loop, but it is struggling to reach the $0.50 level. Analysts who called XRP/USD reaching $1.00 this year are still confident that this will happen before the holiday season; however, the $0.50 mark has proven elusive.

Interestingly, BTC and ETH do not seem to be getting any closer to widespread circulation, which happens to be the Holy Grail of the cryptocurrency world. XRP continues to be the most likely candidate for widespread retail payments, money transfers and remittances, but major competitors are looming high in the horizon. JPMorgan Chase has not given up on its digital currency ambitions, and Facebook's Project Libra could be the next big thing in terms of actual cryptocurrency use.