by Gideon Geoffrey 
The past week was one of the most dreaded as the crypto market went from the little skirmishes between the bears and the bulls to an all-out confrontation that left the latter defeated and the industry losing more than $300 billion.
The global cryptocurrency market cap is estimated at $2.27 trillion at the time of writing. The current value is almost the same as it ended the past seven. Nonetheless, it could be considered a sign of price recovery from the corrections that it suffered on over the weekend.
The global cryptocurrency market cap suggests much anticipated price hikes have not taken place. Most projects surged by a considerable percentage at the start of the past week and many were expecting the same following the massive retracement. Nonetheless, various cryptos are seeing small price increases as illustrated below.
LUNA has been one of the top gainers over the past seven days as it evaded bearish sentiments as the week came to an end. Unfortunately, not many projects were resistant to the bears as the image below shows barely 20 coins of the hundreds closed in the green.
The Fear and Greed Index is currently at 16 – extreme fear. The most recent reading was the lowest since July. The index has seen a downtrend over the past seven days. Amid the chaos, there have been bullish moments. On Monday, the company’s CEO, Michael Saylor, revealed that MicroStrategy has bought about 7,002 BTC for a whopping $414.4 million in cash.
MicroStrategy has remained unwilling to give up its position as the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, as it just recently completed the purchase of over 7,000 BTC. El Salvador also followed as they bought 150 bitcoin after the retracement below $50k.
Following the ugly turn the market has taken in the past seven days, the bulls will look to consolidate and possibly force a short burst across the market this week. Here are the top cryptocurrencies to watch this week
Table of Contents
1. Bitcoin (BTC)
Last week did not go as planned for the leading cryptocurrency as it failed to impress and closed the week at $49,463. The coin decreased by only 13% over the last seven days after losing more than $11,000 over the weekend.
The most valued cryptocurrency opened the week at $54,764 after suffering a little depreciation last week. BTC showed little progress seven days ago following MicroStrategy purchase. The coin saw a 4% increase that ensured a short stay above $57,000.
The $60,000 resistance has become a long term mark as BTC is unable to surge above it for more than two weeks now. A previous outlook hinted that further slip into bearish dominance may result in Bitcoin dipping as low as $40,000.
The current price also establishes $52k as another tough resistance to flip after more than three days below the mark. Several attempts to flip the level failed as the latest shot took the most valued cryptocurrency as high as $51,600.
After losing the first pivot support at $50,400, the buyers will look to force a squeeze that may ensure a recapture of this critical level. On the other hand, the bears will look to capitalize on the market and bring prices crashing as low as $40,000. Nonetheless, it is important to note that there another key support at $44k.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
Ether regains composure at $3,470, after suffering one of the biggest drops. The project showed a lot of potential at the start of the week at $4,302 and saw a high of $4,784. The largest alt by market cap dropped 2.37% in the past week. Ether is off to a slow start as its trading volume is down by almost 5%.
The decrease in trading volume is also reflected in prices as ETH dipped as low as $3,957 a few hours to the time of writing. In the next seven days, we may see the second-largest coin in the world gradually pick up momentum and race past $4,700.
Ethereum is seeing a lot of volatility lately and may result in retesting $3,900. However, the coin has also shown increased strength in quickly recovering from the dips. We saw the largest alt regain stability above the first pivot support at $4,070 and continue to hold this as long as the buyer defends it.
3. Binance Coin (BNB)
BNB retraced to $448 during the last seven days as it lost more than 25% in less than three hours. The exchange token has lost more than 8% over the past week. With recent corrections in the crypto market, the third largest coin dipped to its lowest in the past 30 days.
The project saw a low of $448 and hit a high of $673 during the last seven days. This week, Binance coin opened at $558 and is currently trading at 2% above the mark. The $600 resistance is a tough level that BNB will have to flip to get a shot at further price levels. The next seven days will see the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap retest the $650 resistance.
On the other hand, the sellers will look to pull the exchange token as low as testing the $500 support. The support has held through the past 48 hours and may continue to hold this week.
4. Solana (SOL)
Solana retraced to its lowest since October. The coin has been on the downtrend since November and ended the past week in loss. Last week’s loss has resulted in the fifth largest cryptocurrency dropping below its pivot point and testing support 1.
SOL is not off to a good start as it is currently enjoying relative stability above the first pivot support at $173. Buyers will aim to send the SOL/USD pair trading above $200 and possibly reclaim the PP at $217
The left-wing traders may conitnue the sellers’ congestion that may pull solana prices as low $150. To achieve this, the pair must flip the $180 support and may get a shot at $150 afterwards.
5. Polygon (MATIC)
Closing the past week at a 24% increase and starting a new week with the same bullish trend, MATIC is off to a good start. Polygon peaked at $2.4 and saw a low of $1.62. Price action over the last seven days suggests that we should expect another volatility-filled week.
The MATIC/USD pair has stayed off the $1.6 mark since ascension a few days ago. We may expect the continuation of this trend in the next seven days. The pair will aim to test the $2.6 resistance and may succeed given the current momentum of the market.
A reverse of the prevalent pattern of movement in price may result in the coin dipping as low as $1.8. A flipping of this support may result in polygon retesting $1.6 before rebound.
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
