It has been a roller coaster ride for crypto investors this 2022. This month, total crypto market capitalization fell from around $2.2 trillion at the start of the year to approximately $850 billion.
Several high-profile bankruptcies this year exacerbated the precipitous decline in valuation.
The market for cryptocurrencies is still consolidating, with the majority of assets unable to make large gains.
Despite the current crypto winter, cryptocurrencies remain by far the most profitable asset class for investment, with the ability to recover losses and hit record highs in the long run.
Currently, investors anticipate that the cryptocurrency market will strive to end the large sell-offs in 2023.
A lengthy crypto winter tends to test the patience of investors, but it is one of the finest opportunities to purchase good cryptocurrencies at a discount.
Meanwhile, there is continued curiosity in how particular crypto assets will end 2022, as their price movement will provide insight into what to expect in the following year.
Here are five cryptocurrencies to keep an eye on for the week of December 26.
Bitcoin (BTC)
The year has not been kind to the cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization. Since the start of 2022, bitcoin has lost more than 60 percent of its value.
Because of this, over 50% of BTC investors are currently losing money, causing the market to crash. Nevertheless, a number of evidence imply that bitcoin will make a strong comeback in 2023.
As of this writing, bitcoin is trading at $16,864, up 0.7% in the last seven days, data from Coingecko shows.
Benjamin Cowen, a well-known cryptocurrency specialist, predicted that once bitcoin bulls seize control of the market, a “long accumulation period” will commence.
Ethereum (ETH)
The current price of Ethereum is $1,221, an almost 3% increase over the past week. The 24-hour low is $1,203 and the 24-hour high is $1,222. The cryptocurrency is up 0.1% on the one-hour and 24-hour time frames.
The Ethereum Exchange Reserve for All Exchanges measure reveals the ETH reserves on CEXs have decreased by more than a quarter, according to on-chain data. Thus, investors are acquiring Ethereum and are becoming more bullish.
At the time of writing, the bulls must demonstrate a strong push and consolidation above the $1,230 zone before a countertrend strategy can be considered. The next bullish objective would be $1,300 and possibly $1,350.
Cardano (ADA)
Despite the turmoil of 2022, Cardano’s (ADA) onchain activity has continued to reach new benchmarks.
Cardano smart contracts surpassed 4,400 this year, a 395 percent increase, and 57 million transactions were conducted, an increase of approximately 140 percent.
At the time of writing, ADA was trading at $0.26, up 0.2% in the last 24 hours, after a nearly 3% weekly chart correction.
Despite its poor performance, ADA remains among the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with around $9 billion valuation.
Polygon (MATIC)
Several major cryptocurrencies are expected to drop below their most recent lows, but MATIC has outperformed as it attempts to establish a stable foundation well above its annual bottom.
In its first few months of existence, the price of MATIC was very constant, fluctuating between $0.01 and $0.03.
MATIC’s price, up 0.9% in the last 24 hours and trading at $8030, reached an all-time high of approximately $1.40 in late 2020, one year after its launch, as the entire cryptocurrency market began to recover.
This signified a tremendous rise of more than 4,600% in comparison to its initial price.
XRP
Since the all-time high of $1.98 was achieved in April 2021, the XRP price has lost 80% of its market value.
The XRP community awaits the judgement in the case between Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The ultimate verdict is likely to have an effect on the price of XRP, which has shown brief forays into the green zone despite an extended difficult market.
Bulls are aiming for a post-Christmas breakout as the XRP price rallies to $0.35 at press time.