Last week, the cryptocurrencies to watch experienced their first real scare of the year. After the media storm over the halving of the original blockchain asset, all eyes turned to the Federal Reserve. After battling stubbornly elevated inflation, the central bank appeared to suffer setbacks as energy costs drove up consumer prices even further. Then the April jobs report came to the rescue.
Typically, an economy wants a robust overview of its employment figures. More people with work means more stability and satisfaction. That’s good for politics as a whole. However, the US labor market was in turmoil, meaning more dollars continued to chase fewer and fewer goods. It raised the ugly prospect of the Fed educate Reduce interest rates instead of lowering them.
Instead this The economy created fewer jobs than analysts had expected. That means it’s entirely possible that the Fed could ultimately cut interest rates as planned. Furthermore, a gradual decline in additional employment opportunities suggests that a soft landing is possible.
This is good for stability and can have a positive effect on virtual currencies. Still, investors need to see compelling price action before developing confidence in a possible upcoming rally. With that in mind, below are seven cryptos to keep an eye on this week.
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Bitcoin (BTC USD)
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As usual, everything begins and ends with crypto Bitcoin (BTC USD). In the last 24 hours since early Tuesday morning, BTC has fallen a modest 1%. Over the past seven days, the decentralized digital benchmark lost approximately 0.8% of its market value. The key factor here is of course Bitcoin’s resilience.
At the end of April, Bitcoin suffered a huge decline. On May 1, bears attacked the blockchain asset again. On an intraday basis, BTC had fallen to around $56,516 before trading sentiment calmed down. However, it was the release of the April jobs report on May 3rd that decisively catapulted Bitcoin above the critical threshold of $60,000.
It’s an obvious point, but for the benchmark crypto to avoid a nasty correction and continue its forward trend, maintaining the 60,000 level will be crucial. It’s probably non-negotiable. Finally, the price was at 60,000 during the crypto boom in 2021 The Milestone.
Of course, investors need to consider whether the latest move is credible. To do this, pay attention to the volume. Ideally, you want the market to reach this relative discount (compared to BTC’s peak).
Ethereum (ETH-USD)
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While Bitcoin managed to defuse the situation through a weak session, ether (ETH-USD) wasn’t so lucky. In the last 24 hours, ETH lost almost 3% of its market value. Over the past seven days, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization suffered a 4% decline. However, the digital asset’s main point was that it managed to regain control of the $3,000 mark.
In late April, bears overwhelmed ETH, dropping it from a price of around $3,200 to an intraday low of $2,917. The following day saw another bout of volatility, with Ethereum plummeting to $2,815. However, the bulls managed to stabilize the impact. Then job numbers were lower than expected, leading to speculation about monetary policy.
ETH then managed to climb above the 3K mark. However, recent volatility has once again disappointed long-standing stakeholders. At the time of writing, the coin is trading at around $3,051.
For Ethereum and other cryptos to keep an eye on, the bulls need to appear alive. While I’m encouraged by the “stickiness” of the 3K price, investors should be on the lookout for market participants taking advantage of the discount. After all, ETH peaked at over 4K this year.
Tether (USDT-USD)
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As a stablecoin Connection (USDT-USD) hardly fluctuates in value. If this were the case, it would not be a great stablecoin. However, they may be able to extract useful information about sentiment that other cryptos can keep an eye on based on the relative value of USDT. That means if USDT consistently rises above its dollar peg, it could indicate higher demand for virtual currencies. And the opposite dynamic could also be true.
Over the last seven days, Tether has seen a significant shift in sentiment. Between the last meeting in April and the release of the April jobs report, USDT was below its 1:1 ratio to the greenback for a significant period of time. However, Tether has been trading at or above the dollar peg since the employment data was released.
In my opinion, this fluctuation makes perfect sense. When it became clear that inflation was running amok, holding fiat dollars was a more profitable position than holding Tether coins. However, with the encouraging impact on inflation, risk appetite for cryptos returned.
However, recently USDT has been a bit weak compared to its dollar peg. It’s a metric you should monitor as you decipher volume trends in other cryptos to watch.
Solana (SOL-USD)
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Transition to the non-Ethereum altcoins, Solana (SOL USD) is one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to keep an eye on by market capitalization. In the last 24 hours, SOL has gained over 6% of market value. And in the last seven days it is up almost 15%. The key for SOL this week is that it has risen above the psychologically significant $150 level. However, things must continue to avoid further technical damage.
One element that I didn’t really like is the lower low pattern. On April 17, SOL “closed” (so to speak) at $131.89, according to data from StockCharts. Later, on April 30, SOL closed at $126.68. From my perspective, it seems that the bears are pushing the price lower and trying to find out where the weaknesses lie.
Fundamentally, I don’t like this negative exploratory measure because a disappointing piece of news – say, a series of groundbreaking jobs reports – could prompt the Fed to raise interest rates. That would probably be a big no-no for cryptos. Due to the technical damage, virtual currencies like SOL could plummet.
What could allay concerns is stronger price action from here on out. However, declining volume trends are an important area to watch.
XRP (XRP-USD)
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While many cryptos presented an ambiguously positive framework this week, XRP (XRP USD) is extremely frustrating in my opinion. It doesn’t look like it in immediate print. For example, XRP has gained over 1% of market value in the last 24 hours. And in the last week, the controversial coin gained more than 4%. Those are good statistics.
However, the positive “feelings” pale in context. Of course, XRP saw a noticeable increase following the release of the April jobs report. However, the problem for XRP is that the digital asset suffered a series of sharp declines on April 12th. When the dust settled, XRP was trading at around 43 cents.
Currently, the coin has reclaimed the 54 cent mark. However, before the impact in April, XRP was trading at over 60 cents. So the blockchain asset still has a ways to go before it regains its previous support base. From there, more work is needed to get to around the 64 cent level.
In other words, the coin needs a major boost to restore its credibility in the eyes of mainstream investors.
Toncoin (TON-USD)
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A new addition to the crypto top 10, Toncoin (TON USD) was restless in his last appearances. In the last 24 hours, TON has lost more than 1% of its market value. However, it has risen almost 9% in the last seven days. This is nothing to scoff at, but there are still concerns here.
Looking at the immediate goals, it was important for the bulls to push the price above the psychologically important $2 level. On April 30, TON was trading at around $2 before falling to a low of $1.91. Another bout of volatility saw TON fall to an intraday low of $1.84 during the May 1 session. Finally, the bulls stabilized the downward cycle. When the labor market report for April came out, sentiment rose.
Still, there is a feeling that Toncoin needs to do more to restore investor confidence. Currently, the 20-day exponential moving average is providing upside resistance. Furthermore, TON is trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
Since it is one of the “cheap” cryptocurrencies, you want the market to take the relative discount (TON was trading at $3 a few months ago). Without this increase, TON could be too choppy for the tastes of novice investors.
Cardano (ADA-USD)
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Let’s end this discussion about cryptos with Cardano (ADA USD). Like some of the other virtual currencies this week, ADA also saw a “moderate” performance. In the last 24 hours, the popular altcoin suffered a decline of almost 2%. It fell 1% in the last seven days. Technically speaking, ADA represents one of the most frustrating blockchain assets.
On the bright side, it was crucial for the bears to avoid breaking below the 44 cent mark. Cardano did fall below this point, but only briefly on an intraday basis. However, what’s not so encouraging is that ADA failed to convincingly move up from April’s jobs report. Yes, there was a first bang on May 3rd. However, since Saturday, ADA printed a series of red candles.
Currently, the 20-day exponential moving average is providing upside resistance. Furthermore, ADA continues to trade below its 50 and 200 DMAs. That won’t do much for your self-confidence. The key here is that Cardano suffered a catastrophic decline on April 12th. So unless there is a massive surge that takes ADA back near the 60 cent level, skepticism could be the guiding sentiment.
At the time of publication: Josh Enomoto held a LONG position in BTC, ETH, USDT and XRP. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to those of InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.