The cryptocurrency market started moving upwards; however, the bullish momentum was short-lived and cryptocurrencies reversed their trajectory. The market has been suffering from bearish momentum and has lost a lot of value – nonetheless, the crypto market is always filled with investment opportunities, and going with the “buy the dip” mantra can result in heavy gains.
In this newsletter, we will take you on a trip around the crypto market one last time in this year. See you next year with more investment opportunities!
Highlights of the Week
Here are some of the developments that took place during the week:
- The cryptocurrency market is moving downwards and observed a decline of nearly 3% in the global market capitalization during the past day
- As the market is dominated by bearish momentum, the king and queen of the market are losing to the bears. Bitcoin has fallen down to $46,702 while Ethereum is trading hands at $3,663 apiece
- ProShares – an issuer of Exchange-Traded Funds – is planning to launch a Metaverse-themed ETF soon as the metaverse frenzy shows no signs of dying down. The ETF’s top-weighted stocks include Apple, Meta, and Nvidia
- The scope of cryptocurrencies is expanding fast. Aave – the DeFi platform – announced a new market using real-world assets rather than cryptocurrencies.
- The metaverse hype is expected to further gain momentum as Sandbox’s co-founder regards Ethereum Metaverse to be a “digital nation”
- The number of Ethereum addresses with non-zero holdings has crossed 71 million. The surge comes amidst the NFT and metaverse frenzy
Crypto Fear & Greed Index
A good way to analyze the crypto market sentiment is through the fear and greed index. The index has become quite popular with crypto holders as it combines various indicators of sentiment in the market and churns out a single number. Ranging from zero to a hundred, the crypto fear & greed index shows whether the market is in a state of fear – bearishness – or greed – bullishness.
While a seasoned investor can definitely tell the general market sentiment from one look at the crypto numbers, using the crypto fear & greed index re-enforces and ensures the market sentiment. Last week, the market has been showing an uptick as the indicator showed a value of 45 – still at fear but moving toward neutral. However, the bearishness of the market is still showing no signs of fully ending. The current value of the index stands at 22 with the sentiment now turned to extreme fear.
All-Time High Coins
While the cryptocurrency market was surging during the holidays, altcoins were quick to embark on the bullish momentum and reach new highs. Here is a list of some of the cryptocurrencies that have managed to establish new all-time highs:
Dusk Network has undergone major developments during 2021 – from research and development to listings at many major exchanges, the platform has achieved a lot in a short time span. With the upcoming launch of the testnet in February 2022, Dusk is expected to achieve even higher highs. The new all-time high was established yesterday at a price level of $1.17. Currently, the cryptocurrency stands at a price level of $1.05 with a 36% increase during the past twenty-four hours.
Near Protocol is another cryptocurrency that has reached towards a new all-time high during the past week. The new ATH of the coin lies at $16.39. Near Protocol underwent many upgrades during the year – a total of 20 – including one that enables users to have Ethereum-style accounts. The network has also launched a bootcamp in partnership with Encode Camp to introduce developers to Near’s ecosystem.
Terra has also established a new all-time high at $103 during the running week. The cryptocurrency subsequently broke its uptrend due to bearish pressures. Currently, the token is standing at a price level of $86 with the daily price movements showing bearishness. Terra also joined hands with Nexo to enable easy and instantaneous buying, swapping, and borrowing against Terra through Nexo.
Convex Finance has been showing phenomenal growth and a growing community. The total value locked has reached a whopping $20 billion on the network – achieving a milestone right before the year ended. The cryptocurrency reached a new all-time high of $60 a couple of days ago. Convex Finance is aimed at Curve users for simplifying their experience and boosting their returns.
Polygon is our final ATH coin of the week. The new all-time high of the cryptocurrency lies at a price level of $2.92 – established during the running week. The bullish momentum was fueled by positive developments on the network. A network upgrade updates the security of Polygon. Moreover, Okex exchange has allowed users to transfer funds directly to Polygon and also easily access DeFi and dApps.
Top Movers (24 Hours)
The cryptocurrency market witnessed a slight downturn after Christmas as tokens began tumbling downwards. However, the crypto market is known for its volatility which leads to outliers. Here are the top five movers of the day to watch out for:
Frax Share is our top gainer of the day with an increase of 43% during the past twenty-four hours. The current price is trading at $32. Frax Finance is an algorithmic stablecoin with dynamic collateralization but that is not all. It is also the next generation of money markets and a cash flow machine. The income growth projections for 2023 have already been outpaced by cryptocurrency.
Decentralized Social is another cryptocurrency that is on a bullish roll despite the bearish outlook of the cryptocurrency market. The cryptocurrency has gained by 35% during the past twenty-four hours with the current price trading at $115 while the daily trading volume is up by nearly 900%. Decentralized Social is a blockchain designed for social media networks on Web 3.0.
MetisDAO has surged to a new all-time high with a surge of 28% in the price during the past day. The project has been garnering attention because of its phenomenal growth trajectory. MetisDAO achieved a more than 200% increase in the total value locked in just seven days. The token currently stands at a price level of $191 with the daily trading volume increased by more than 150%.
Gnosis is another top gainer of the day with an increase of 16% in the price level. The cryptocurrency is trading hands at $491 apiece with the daily trading volume has surged by more than 300%. GNO token is on a steady uptrend; hence, further increases can be expected in the upcoming days. Gnosis is a prediction market built on top of Ethereum.
Last but not the least, XDC Network increased by 11% during the day as the cryptocurrency broke a steady downtrend. Now that the downtrend has been broken, the cryptocurrency is expected to depart on an uptrend. Currently, XDC stands at a price level of $0.09 with the daily trading volume up by nearly 100%.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
The NFT sphere is one of the hottest segments of the cryptocurrency market. It has garnered unfathomable attention in a short time span. Despite the bearish outlook of the cryptocurrency market, NFT sales are surging upward. The segment appears to be completely immune to the bearish sentiment of the market and is fueled by the metaverse frenzy as major developments are underway in the metaverse realm.
While critics of the NFT markets call it nothing more than a gold rush, people are still flocking to the NFT bandwagon. The global NFT market crossed $22 billion during the year and the new year is expected to witness even higher growth. More and more key figures are expressing their interest in the NFT space – with the most recent being billionaire investor Ray Dalio.
NFTs to watch
NFTs have a lot of potential for growth given the current performance of the segment during the year 2021. The coming year is expected to bring unheard-of adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology – including NFTs. It’s not too late to invest in NFTs yet. Here are some of the top NFT collections to consider:
Mutant Ape Yacht Club is a spinoff of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club. The collection has gained a lot of attention recently. Over the past week, the trading volume of the collection surged by more than 500% to $71 million on secondary markets. This also resulted in a spike in the average price of a Mutant Ape from $32,000 to $50,000. The collection is expected to rise further in the upcoming days.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club continuously stays on the top-ranking lists because of the strong footing the collection has in the market – including celebrity backings and sky-high prices. The club has announced the launch of an NFT-based game expected to go live in the second quarter of 2022. Moreover, the NFTs are also approaching the floor price of CryptoPunks – a collection that is regarded as the first major NFT collection.
The Sandbox closed the initial Alpha test of its game on 20th December and the test period was nothing short of a success despite being limited to only a few people with Alpha passes. The second iteration of the Alpha testing is coming soon which has people in anticipation as it will be open to everyone to give them a taste of the metaverse including play-to-earn rewards and much more. Rapper Snoop Dogg has also partnered with Sandbox to launch interactive experiences in the form of live concerts and NFTs in the metaverse.
Prime Ape Planet is a new launch in the market. In less than 24 hours of launch, the collection was able to reach more than 100,000 members of its Discord community. Moreover, Prime Apes also reached a floor price of around $4,000 in just four hours. The growth of the collection is unheard of in the NFT space which makes it a great project to invest in.
Vox Collectibles: Mirandus was revealed in the last week of December. It is a collection of 8,888 unique Vox Boxes that are to be revealed by sending the Vox Box to the official Vox contract address through a connected Metamask wallet. The collection is currently ranked at #7 at OpenSea with the trading volume having surged by 55% during the week.