The cryptocurrency market has been riding high in 2023, sustaining gains across the board. As we head into the week of February 6, 2023, it’s crucial to stay abreast of the latest developments in the market.
Therefore, Finbold has picked a selection of cryptocurrencies that are worth watching based on their potential to rally, the progress of their underlying network developments, and the compelling narratives they support. Below are the five digital assets to watch for the coming week;
Ethereum (ETH)
The second-ranked cryptocurrency by the market is back in the limelight as the community gears for the withdrawal of the staked ETH. In this line, Ethereum has witnessed increased network activity ahead of the Shanghai hard fork that will give investors access to their staked ETH following the historical Merge upgrade.
At the moment, investors are simulating the withdrawal process after the Zhejiang testnet went live. Ahead of the withdrawal, Ethereum accounts for the largest staking market cap among crypto projects supporting smart contracts.
In the meantime, the Ethereum network is recording sustained adoption, adding 130,000 unique addresses daily in 2023. Notably, several factors come into play when focusing on Ethereum’s price in the coming week. First, it will be of interest to monitor if the Zhejiang testnet impacts the asset’s value.
At the same time, technical analysis indicates that Ethereum might be poised for a price breakout. As reported by Finbold, Ethereum successfully exited from the symmetrical triangle, a factor likely to push the asset’s price to about $3,500. By press time, Ethereum was trading at $1,661 with daily gains of about 0.1%.
Additionally, the machine learning algorithm at PricePrediction indicates that Ethereum is likely to trade at $1,555 on February 28, 2023.
Elsewhere, Ethereum’s technical analysis on TradingView remains bullish. A summary of the daily gauges recommends ‘buy’ at 13, while moving averages are for a ‘strong buy’ sentiment gauging at 12.
Cardano (ADA)
The decentralized finance (DeFi) platform has benefited from increased network activity that is helping the entity in its course to become an ‘Ethereum killer.’ Indeed, the Cardano (ADA) blockchain is recording increased adoption, with a Finbold report indicating that the network added 50,000 addresses in January alone. The adoption saw ADA record a surge in capital inflow.
Additionally, smart contracts, one of the key metrics on Cardano, continue to surge, hitting the 5,000 milestone. Notably, among crypto projects with smart contracts, Cradano ranks second in the market cap of staked assets at $10.4 billion. Elsewhere, as reported by Finbold, Cardano accounted for the second crypto project with the most development activity on GitHub.
Moving into the new week, ADA is worth monitoring, especially how the increased interest in the platform can influence the price. Indeed, ADA has formed a foundation for a possible rally based on the recently sustained accumulation of the token.
By press time, ADA was valued at $0.40, while on the weekly chart, the asset is up over 2%.
Under technical analysis, ADA daily gauges on TradingView are bullish. A summary recommends the ‘buy’ sentiment at 11 while ‘moving averages’ are for a ‘strong buy’ at 11.
Lido DAO (LDO)
Lido DAO (LDO) has stood out among the top-gaining cryptocurrencies across 2023. Notably, the asset’s gains have mirrored development around the Ethereum network. In this line, Lido DAO is among the top Ethereum liquid staking solutions, and the upcoming Ethereum Shanghai upgrade inspired the initial gains. Therefore, LDO is lined up to benefit since it accounts for a significant share of staked ETH.
LDO is an asset worth watching, considering that the Zhejiang testnet is the latest development activity toward accessing the staked ETH. Additionally, with Ethereum controlling a giant valuation of staked ETH by market cap, the element will likely influence LDO once the staking withdrawal goes live.
At the same time, Lido DAO has been making significant gains in the DeFi ecosystem sustaining a significant share of the total value locked (TVL). At the moment, LDO is trading $2.14, having corrected over 6% in the last 24 hours.
Elsewhere, a summary of the LDO technical analysis is for ‘sell’ at 10. The same sentiment is exhibited across the moving averages and oscillators at 8 and 9, respectively.
Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche (AVAX) has recorded an increase in value mainly due to its widespread adoption across multiple platforms and leveraging the general market’s bullish sentiment.
Recently, transfer services SafeTransfer and Delta Prime DeFi integrated the token into their services. At the same time, AVAX has received a boost in its value could also be attributed to the partnership between Avalanche and Amazon Web Services, which fully supports Avalanche’s infrastructure and decentralized application ecosystem.
Away from the adoption, the Avalanche network is seeking sustained relevance in the crypto space through increased network development. In particular, the network will likely receive a boost from a new update release that makes it easier for validators. According to Ava Labs developers, the new update, dubbed Banff 8, can directly influence optimizing support for previous version clients, enhancing peer-2-peer (P2P) network interaction.
Currently, AVAX is trading at $20.89, with slight gains of about 1.6% in the last seven days.
Furthermore, the AVAX technical analysis is mainly positive, with a summary aligning with the ‘buy’ sentiment at 14, while moving averages are for a ‘strong buy’ at 13.
Polygon (MATIC)
The Ethereum scaling blockchain, Polygon (MATIC), is among the crypto projects with significant activity that has propelled the asset to new highs. For instance, Polygon’s recent surge in activity elevated it to overtake Ethereum in terms of daily active users alongside witnessing a boost in DeFi activity, as the total value locked (TVL) in the protocol has surpassed $800 million. Overall, Polygon has had an impressive run, with network upgrades to improve its staking and gas rates.
Another area that had elevated Polygon to crypto market highs is the non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Polygon’s NFT growth has resulted in the network recording more sales than Ethereum. Therefore, these activities will likely influence MATIC’s price in the coming days.
Currently, MATIC is trading at $1.23 with daily gains of about $0.6%.
A review of the technical indicators points to a bullish outlook for MATIC. The token’s summary stands at ‘buy’ with a score of 14, with moving averages recommending the strong buy sentiment at 13.
The highlighted cryptocurrencies are mainly backed by network activities. However, the assets’ prospects will also rely on the overall crypto market trajectory moving into the new week.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
