• Bitcoin Price (BTC) Slipped but BCH Led CoinDesk 20 Gainers Last Week
• All but three cryptos in the index posted losses last week, with alternative L1s NEAR, APT, and AVAX declining the most.
• The post provides details on the CoinDesk Indices Market Update, including information on various cryptocurrencies’ performance.
All but three cryptos in the index posted losses last week, with alternative L1s NEAR, APT, and AVAX declining the most.
Market Overview
Bitcoin (BTC) slipped 2% over the past 24 hours, but outperformed ether (ETH) which declined almost 4% over the same period. Most major cryptos were trading in the red on Sunday as equity markets in Asia opened lower.
The second largest crypto by market capitalization is down about 4% over the past week compared to a 6% loss in BTC over the same time period. ETH has failed to hold price levels above $1,500 and was recently trading below $1,450.
Alternative layer 1s NEAR, Aptos (APT) and Avalanche (AVAX) posted the biggest weekly declines among cryptos tracked in the CoinDesk Market Index (MI), dropping between 17% and 20% over the past seven days. DOGE rose 12% last week, making it the only gainer outperforming bitcoin cash (BCH) which rallied 29%.
The native token of the Bitcoin Cash network benefited from news earlier in the week that the blockchain completed a planned upgrade designed to expand functionality. The price of BCH jumped from about $100 on Sunday, Feb. 19 to over $130 on Friday. The cryptocurrency is still down 66% over the past 12 months.
Market Wrap
Bitcoin (BTC): $24,644 -2.1%
Ether (ETH): $1,454 -3.9%
S&P 500 daily close: 4,079.09 +0.2%
Gold: $1,798 -0.1%
Market moves
Bitcoin (BTC): Bitcoin dropped below $24,500 over the weekend before finding support. Some analysts expect further downside toward the $22,000 to $24,000 support zone.
Ether (ETH): Ether declined for a third consecutive day and was recently trading near $1,450. Lower support is seen at around $1,400, which could stabilize the downtrend.
Additional Market Analysis
Most major cryptos declined over the past 24 hours. Popular meme token DOGE and BCH were the only outliers among the group, rising about 3% and 1%, respectively.
AVAX dropped 5% over the past 24 hours, bringing its weekly decline to about 20%. The blockchain’s AVAX token has plunged almost 60% year to date amid a broader slump among layer 1 blockchain tokens.
Cryptos like solana’s SOL, ada’s ADA and APT have also fallen steeply in 2023 as investors pivot away from speculative assets amid rising interest rates. APT, which spiked to nearly $30 in early February shortly after its mainnet launch, was trading below $4 on Sunday.
Altcoin roundup
Cosmos Token Rallies After Airdrop Announcement: Cosmos’ ATOM token rallied after the blockchain network announced the specifics of its next token airdrop. ATOM rose over 13% over the past 24 hours and was one of the few cryptos trading in the green on Sunday. The gains come after Cosmos announced that the upcoming airdrop for stakers would have a ratio of 1 to 1.
Polygon to Launch ZK-Rollups This Year: Polygon said it plans to launch zero-knowledge rollups (ZK-Rollups) on its network in 2023, which will bring major scaling benefits. The Ethereum scaling solution currently uses optimistic rollups but has been planning to adopt ZK tech.
Avalanche Founder Leaves: Emin Gün Sirer, the founder of layer 1 blockchain Avalanche, announced he was stepping down as director of the Avalanche Foundation. Sirer said he will continue to work on technical improvements for Avalanche while focusing on other projects.
Conclusion
Most major cryptos declined last week, but BCH’s 29% rally led gainers in the CoinDesk 20. BCH benefited from its latest network upgrade while alternative layer 1s like NEAR, APT and AVAX saw some of the biggest drops. Leading cryptos BTC and ETH ended the week down about 6% each.
