Stafi (FIS) defies crypto market outlook, token up 13%

• Stafi (FIS) price is up 3% in the past 24 hours and 13% this past week.
• The Staking Finance governance token has seen a spike in whale transactions of $100k+, on-chain data shows.
• Interest is seeing FIS outperform major altcoins.

Stafi (FIS), the governance token of the StaFi protocol, has seen a decent spike in the past 24 hours to bring total gains in the past week to more than 13%.

Currently trading at around $0.29, FIS has outperformed the major cryptocurrencies as they continue to struggle for volatility. All top altcoins by market cap are 2%-5% down in the past seven days, with Bitcoin (BTC) perched above $26k but down 4% in the outlined period. Ethereum, which came under renewed downward pressure following news of Vitalik Buterin’s latest ETH transaction, remains below $1,600 with -3.8% in the past week.

Why is the price of Stafi (FIS) up today?

As noted, FIS is a governance token for the Staking Finance, a DeFi protocol that offers access to liquidity of staked assets.

Other than its use in staking, FIS is used as transaction fees. But traders and investors are increasingly turning to the protocol rTokens, reward tokens that one receives when they stake Proof-of-Stake coins and tokens like Ethereum. These tokens are tradable and act as collateral on lending platforms. In other words, FIS holders have various opportunities of earning, including from staking rewards and lending of rTokens.

Stafi has recently added rTokens for Polygon (MATIC) and Cosmos Hub (ATOM).

Interest in FIS has skyrocketed over the past few weeks, reflecting in the token’s price performance. According to data by market intelligence platform Santiment, FIS is among a few smaller cap altcoins to see a significant uptick in whale accumulation.

Per on-chain data the firm shared on X, whales have been “most active,” in the ecosystems of aelf (ELF), Cream (CREAM), Stafi (FIS) and Linear (LINA). The networks have witnessed a surge in whale transactions involving $100,000 or more.

“These projects have a higher probability to see big swings this week,” Santiment analysts have noted.