Cryptocurrencies to watch for the week of March 13, 2023

The cryptocurrency market is facing renewed bearish sentiments due to the collapse of Silvergate Bank and the closure of Silicon Valley Bank, both of which had exposure to the crypto industry. These events have translated to uncertainty in the market, leaving many investors unsure about the future. 

Despite this uncertainty, some cryptocurrencies are showing promise and are worth keeping an eye on in the coming week. Moving into the week of March 13, the following five digital assets are worth monitoring and exploring the factors driving their performance.

Kava (KAVA)

Kava (KAVA) has mainly experienced a bullish momentum as the token has led weekly gains, primarily inspired by network activities. Kava recently unveiled its validator incentives that acted as a bullish trigger for the token’s price. 

The launch saw more validators run their node on the Kava blockchain. Kava also incentivized its validators to migrate their cloud infrastructure from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud to Akash, a decentralized cloud computing platform. As part of this move, Akash pledged $1 million in AKT, Akash Network’s native token, to Kava Strategic Vault to promote decentralized infrastructure on Kava. 

This initiative has likely motivated users on Kava, leading to increased network activity. The development adds to Kava’s previous initiatives that saw the token’s listing on the crypto exchange Coinbase. 

Therefore, moving into the new week, KAVA is worth watching, primarily if the network can sustain the gains emanating from network activity. With the overall market facing bearish sentiments, KAVA also remains at risk of experiencing selling pressure, with investors likely to take out profits. By press time, KAVA was trading at $0.91 with weekly gains of about 15%. 

KAVA’s one-day technical analysis on TradingView is mainly bullish. A summary of the technicals is for the ‘buy’ sentiment gauging at 11. Moving averages are also for buying at 9.

Maker (MKR)

Maker (MKR), a governance token used to pay borrowing fees when users take loans by locking in collateral in exchange for DAI, Maker’s stablecoin, has also recorded signs of price breakout amid new network initiatives. One of the driving factors in MKR’s price is the lowering of borrowing fees implemented by Maker DAO.

Under the new plan, Maker DAO reduced the annual borrowing fee for Rocket Pool ETH to 0.5% and raised the maximum debt ceiling from 20 million DAI to 30 million DAI, allowing users to borrow more. This reduction in borrowing fees also applied to other loan offerings, which led to increased trading volume and a rise in MKR’s price as more users joined the network. 

In another significant development for the Maker community, members are voting to approve the release of additional funds to purchase U.S. government bonds worth $750 million. The decision comes from the growing attractiveness of bonds as an asset class in the face of rising interest rates.

MKR is an asset to watch, especially if on-chain activity helps the token sustain gains despite the bearish conditions. Currently, MKR is trading at $689 with daily gains of over 5%. 

However, MKR’s technical analysis is bearish. A summary of the gauges on TradingView is for ‘sell’ at 14, while moving averages recommend ‘strong sell’ at 13. Oscillators are ‘neutral’ gauging at 9.

XRP

XRP has been a cryptocurrency of focus as the token’s parent company Ripple continues its legal battle with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The token is also at the center of attention following the high-profile collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SBV). 

As things stand, Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz has said the company will issue a statement on how it was affected by SBV’s collapse. Therefore, if Ripple had significant exposure to the lender, one possible outcome would be an impact on the value of XRP. This comes as the USDC stablecoin depegged from the dollar after it emerged that the issuer Circle held some reserves in SBV. 

In the meantime, XRP investors continue monitoring the lawsuit as the summary judgment inches closer. With Ripple exhibiting confidence, a ruling in the company’s favor would likely be bullish for XRP and vice versa.

By press time, XRP was trading at $0.36, having registered daily losses of about 0.6%. 

For technical analysis, XRP is mainly bearish, with both summary and moving averages recommending a ‘strong sell’ sentiment gauging at 16 and 14, respectively.

ImmutableX (IMX)

ImmutableX (IMX) has emerged as a popular Layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum (ETH) that enables fast and secure transactions for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other Ethereum-based assets. This popularity is partly due to the platform’s numerous partnerships and collaborations in the NFT space, including GameStop (GME), which plans to use ImmutableX (IMX) for its tokenized collectible marketplace.

In a recent development, IMX saw a bullish price momentum after the launch of a new game called “Undead Blocks” on the network. The game, developed by Wagyu Games Executive Director Grant Haseley, allows players to earn ZBUX tokens, a digital currency that can be used to purchase rare weapons, character skins, or special weapon non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by killing zombies.

During the beta mode, the game reportedly attracted more than 100,000 players in the last quarter, indicating strong potential for future growth. At a time when the market is looking for catalysts for upward price movement, IMX is worth monitoring if the network partnership can lead to a value breakout.

IMX has recorded daily gains of over 1% to trade at $0.80 by press time.

For technical analysis, IMX is primarily negative, with both summary and moving averages recommending ‘sell’ at 11 and 10, respectively.

Bitcoin (BTC)

The maiden cryptocurrency was among the leading assets that recorded a capital outflow due to Silvergate Bank’s collapse. The event saw Bitcoin (BTC) correct to below $20,000, sending shockwaves across the market. However, Bitcoin has managed to rise above $20,000 despite the market being compounded by the USDC stablecoin depegging from the dollar.

In a recent development, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that interest rates could rise higher and remain elevated for a more extended period than anticipated. This announcement has weighed heavily on risk assets such as Bitcoin, which have already experienced a significant decline over the past year due to rising interest rates.

Other negative developments in the broader financial market further complicate the current negative outlook for the crypto industry. As a result, there appears to be little reason for investors to venture into Bitcoin. 

The market has become increasingly saturated with the bearish sentiment, leaving many investors cautious and uncertain about the future of crypto assets. Despite the prevailing bearish sentiment, the crypto community-based at CoinMarketCap is projecting that the asset will likely trade at $21,192.

Although Bitcoin has reclaimed the $20,000 position, the asset is worth monitoring in the coming week, especially if it can hold the level or might be weighed down further by the bearish sentiments. By press time, Bitcoin was trading at $20,490, gaining over 2% on the daily chart. On the weekly chart, Bitcoin is down over 8%.

For technical analysis, Bitcoin is plagued by bearish sentiments. A summary of the gauges is for ‘sell’ at 12. Moving averages are for the ‘strong sell’ sentiment at 11.

For the highlighted cryptocurrencies, their ability to stand out majorly depends on how the market reacts to the fallout around the banking state in the U.S. and prevailing factors such as the possible interest rate hikes.

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.