This past week in the crypto market delivered one of those periods that long traders and investors would love to forget and hope to never see again.
Having opened at $2.05 trillion, the global cryptocurrency market cap slumped to $1.61 trillion at the end of the seven-day timeframe, representing a 20% decline. The market saw relative stability during the first three days of the week, but took a turn for the worst on Thursday as it lost almost 10% of its value at the time.
The bears seized control of the market in response to bearish news from Russia. The country’s Apex Bank cited concerns that cryptos are not only volatile, but are mostly used as payments to facilitate illicit transactions, such as money laundering and terrorist financing, and proposed that it be banned.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index remained relatively stable but went volatile as the Russian story spread, causing a dip to 11. Currently, the index is at 12 – still displaying extreme fear as most cryptocurrencies are down by a few percent.
Yesterday, the global cryptocurrency market cap was estimated at $1.61 trillion. However, it has retraced to $1.54 trillion – a more than 6% drop. The depreciation left coins like RUNE, FTM and MATIC losing 15% each with Ether trailing behind these assets with a 14% lose.
However, the market trajectory changed as soon as the whales got involved. One report has it that a new all-time high of 26.22 Million $ETH is held by top non-exchange whale addresses. One Ethereum whale loaded up on a total of 606,352,106,247 Shiba Inu tokens worth a whopping $12,135,105 at the time of purchase.
Traders are still riding on these stories and some cryptocurrencies are holding critical levels. Is the bearish dominance over? That largely depends on market actions throughout the next six days. Here are the top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week.
1. Bitcoin (BTC)
The most valued crypto asset is currently trading at a little above $36,000 as of this time. Although there has not been a significant increase in the price of the apex coin over the last 24 hours, nonetheless, the coin hit reverse as it was retracing in the early part of the day.
Last week, Bitcoin opened trading at $43,071, but rarely witnessed any increase because of an immediate retracement. Following a period of relative stability, Bitcoin took a nosedive losing the $40k support, an average of 1.5% during that time.
Many critical levels were lost during that time. One such is the $40,000 support lost its strength as it flipped on Friday and the largest cryptocurrency dipped as low $35,440. As the correction intensified, the $35,000 support also broke the apex coin hit a low of $34,008 on Saturday.
Unfortunately, the $33k support gave way BTC drop to its lowest in past six months ($32,920) during the past 24 hours. Yesterday we saw a change in recent market trends of starting slow or retracement at the start of a new week.
Following the most recent dip, bitcoin recovered and closed in profits. Although significant, the rebound has sparked hopes of a return to $40k. To achieve this, long buyers must defend the apex crypto from further downtrend and hold the asset above $36,000.
Based on price movements we may conclude that flipping the $36k support may result in further downtrend below $34k. With many traders speculating the bottom at $30,000, failure to hold the highlighted level may result in this prediction coming true.
2. Decentraland (MANA)
Decentraland lost 32% last week as it saw a low of $1.7 and a high of $3.18. Following a more than 30% decrease last month, the metaverse token is yet to rebound. The coin lost both the $3 support and the $2 support hence the recent low.
The sudden turn of events during the past 24 hours has resulted in the token regaining the $2 support and gaining little stability above it. Nonetheless, MANA is down by a few percent and is leading traders to ask when it will end.
Unfortunately, we can’t turn to indicators as they are all still bearish. Why is MANA one of the cryptocurrencies to watch this week? We have observed that Decentraland is one of the few tokens that has shown a little more resistance to price retracement ravaging the market – evidence of more HODLers and buyers compared to some other assets.
Nonetheless, we note how the bulls are currently holding $2 support. Further defense of this mark may result in the metaverse token testing $2.2 and flipping further resistance. Additionally, a slip of the $2 mark may send MANA as low as $1.8.
3. Sandbox (SAND)
Similar to Decentraland, the Sandbox lost 36% last week as it saw a low of $2.5 and a high of $4.9. Following a more than 14% decrease last month, the metaverse token is yet to rebound. The coin lost both the $4.5 support and the $3 support hence the low.
The sudden turn of events during the past 24 hours has resulted in the token regaining the $3 support and gaining little stability above it. Nonetheless, SAND is down by a few percent and is leading traders to ask when it will end.
Why is MANA one of the cryptocurrencies to watch this week? We have observed that like the preceding digital assets, SAND is one of the few tokens that has shown a little more resistance to price retracement ravaging the market – evidence of more HODLers and buyers compared to some other assets.
Nonetheless, we note how the bulls are currently holding $3 support. Further defense of this mark may result in the metaverse token testing $2.2 and flipping further resistance. Although the grip on this level is not strong a price slip may send MANA as low as $2.8.
4. Gala (GALA)
Gala, like most cryptocurrencies, is suffering from lingering corrections in the market. The asset lost 40% last week and is yet to regain the lost value as the bearish dominance still prevails. The coin dipped to a low of $0.15 and hit a high of $0.32.
The fairly new project is currently exchanging at $0.18 per unit – a stark reminder that the digital asset lost critical levels during the past intraweek trading sessions. One of the key supports that was lost during that period is the $0.25 which led to further downtrend.
The last three days have seen GALA stay above $0.17 – making the mark a critical support. However, the coin is not experiencing the same sentiment as the preceding cryptocurrencies, as we noticed that the cryptocurrency is down by almost 7%. Why is it one of the cryptocurrencies to watch this week?
We observed that gala has been oversold since last week. Based on RSI rules, an oversold asset is bound to regain composure and start an uptrend. Additionally, MACD histogram is displaying a gradual increase in buying volume, which translates to the slight surge the cryptocurrency is experiencing.
5. Loopring (LRC)
Loopring is another project that has shown a little more resistance to the current bearish dominance. The coin no doubt saw a lot of volatility, like most digital assets last week, losing 36% of its value at the time.
Seeing such an amount decrease, a lot of critical levels are bound to be lost. Of all these levels, the $1.05 support was flipped after more than three days of testing. The last day of the past week saw the project gain a whooping 16%.
The last three days have seen LRC stay above $0.7 – making the mark a critical support. Loopring is one of the few coins that are enjoying relatively bullish actions. We note that the coin has gained more than 16% since this week’s beginning.
RSI suggests that the cryptocurrency may continue to enjoy these bullish sentiments as the project leaves the oversold region. Additionally, MACD histograms are displaying a gradual increase in buying volume – a possible sign of a bullish market reversal.
Conclusion
This article highlighted five cryptocurrencies to watch this week. The above predictions coming true largely depend on market conditions remaining relatively stable for most parts of the next seven days, which of course is not guaranteed. The volatile nature of the crypto space means investors and traders must do their own research and always keep an eye on the charts
