Metaverse tokens MANA, SAND, and AXS gain 30%
Bitcoin has blasted above $42K, after buyers stepped into the market following weeks of falling prices.
The leading crypto made its biggest daily percentage gain since this time last year on Friday, breaking free from the shackles of its recent stock market correlation. Some analysts suggest this “decoupling” could be driven by the censorship resistant quality of Bitcoin, which was highlighted last week by the seizure of funds from the Canadian trucker protest. Others suggest, humorously, that Bitcoin’s explosive move higher could be in celebration of the birthday of one of its biggest fans — MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.
Top performing altcoins include metaverse tokens SAND, MANA, and AXS with 30% gains each, and meme coin SHIB which leapt almost 40%. Smart contract platforms were also big winners, with DOT rising 20% while SOL and ETH both made double-digit gains despite being shaken by the second-largest smart contract hack ever.
This Week’s Highlights
– Tezos soars 18% on NFT tailwinds
– Ethereum and Solana defy hack to make double-digit gains
Tezos soars 18% on NFT tailwinds
Tezos, the blockchain known for hosting environmentally-friendly NFTs, is one of the strongest altcoins leading the market recovery.
The token made 18% gains last week, following the release of a Coin Metrics report which highlighted that transactions on Tezos have increased by 5x in the last year to reach more than 50,000 per day as of January 2022.
In addition, the blockchain project is reported to have scored a $27 million-per-year sponsorship deal with Manchester United.
Ethereum and Solana defy hack to make double-digit gains
Despite being caught up in one of the biggest smart contract exploits ever, Ethereum and Solana are both enjoying double-digit weekly gains.
Wormhole, a bridge protocol that links the two blockchain networks, fell victim to a massive $320 million hack last Wednesday, triggering a 12% drop for Solana and similar losses for Ethereum.
Nevertheless, the crypto arm of Jump Trading soon stepped in to replenish the funds. This helped drive a recovery, and by the end of the week Ethereum had risen over 17%. Meanwhile, speedy smart contract rival Solana was up a whopping 26%.
Week ahead
After a strong finish to last week, crypto investors are now eagerly watching to see if Bitcoin can sustain its momentum as an independent safe haven asset, or remains subject to the swings of the stock market.
This could be revealed on Thursday with the release of US inflation data. If higher than expected, the data could place more pressure on global markets by increasing the likelihood of further monetary tightening.