Cryptocurrencies to watch: Week of February 27
Keep an eye on these coins
The cryptocurrency market had an average week, staying around today’s price level. While a strong bull run pushing up prices does not look likely at the moment, the crypto market may have stabilized. Several tokens rose in price in the past week, as detailed below.
This week we examine Ankr (ANKR), Stacks (STX), Bone ShibaSwap (BONE), GateToken (GT) and Optimism (OP). In selecting these assets, we have taken into account several factors, including positive technical developments, significant news events and noticeable changes in price.
Important takeaways
- Ankr (ANKR) token’s price rose by 30%; it recently announced partnerships with major tech companies Tencent and Microsoft.
- Stacks (STX) was another big gainer of the week, with a price increase of about 50% amid growing popularity of the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol for storing non-fungible tokens (NFT).
- Bone ShibaSwap (BONE) gained 11% in price as the crypto community anticipates the launch of Shiba Inu’s Layer-2 scaling solution Shibarium.
- GateToken (GT) was also up around 10% after Gate Group applied for a Hong Kong license that would allow the exchange to expand crypto services there.
- The Optimism (OP) token posted a nearly 10% price increase as Coinbase announced it would partner with Optimism to build on the Ethereum Layer-2 solution.
Ankr (ANKR)
Ankr (ANKR) token’s price increased by around 30%, possibly as a reaction to two collaborations, with tech giants Tencent and Microsoft. The partnership with Tencent allows users to launch nodes for multiple blockchains, using Tencent’s cloud computing strengths. The Microsoft partnership brings it together with Ankr to work on Web3 infrastructure solutions.
Through these partnerships, Ankr expands its ecosystem and builds basic infrastructure that developers can take advantage of. It should offer a base from which Ankr can expand its Web3, or decentralized internet, intentions. The ANKR token started last week at 3.4 cents and is now priced at around 4.2 cents (see chart below).
ANKR price: TradingView
Stacks (STX)
The Stacks (STX) coin surged more than 50% in price, possibly due in part to Bitcoin Ordinal’s growing popularity. Bitcoin Ordinals are a protocol that allows NFTs to be stored on the Bitcoin blockchain and are ordered and inscribed with some information, such as text or an image. This information makes each one unique and makes it a de facto NFT. In mid-February, Ordinal NFTs on Bitcoin crossed $100,000 in value.
Both the Stacks and Ordinals protocols allow further development opportunities, namely smart contracts, for Bitcoin. Smart contracts, which are programs for blockchains, are popular on other networks, but Bitcoin has seen limited development of them. Stacks is associated with Ordinals because the token is a form of payment for Ordinals NFTs. STX was at 62 cents last week and is now hovering around 95 cents (see chart below).
STX Price: Trading View
Bone ShibaSwap (BONE)
Shiba Inu’s BONE token jumped 11%, possibly because the centralized exchange GATE listed the token. The token will serve as the gas fee token, or the unit of currency used to pay for transactions, on the Shiba Inu network.
In addition, the Layer-2 scaling solution Shibarium is expected to launch soon, and the team has also launched a portal for it. Layer-2 scaling solutions are separate blockchains built on top of the primary layer to provide speed and transaction processing benefits. Shibarium is important because the strategy takes Shiba Inu from its meme coin origins to become a more utility-based project. BONE was priced at $1.66 at the beginning of last week and is now priced at around $1.85 (see chart below).
BONE price: TradingView
GateToken (GT)
GateToken (GT), the exchange token of Gate.io, rose around 10% and is now priced at around $5.37 (see chart below). The token offers benefits to users of the Gate.io exchange, which has added more users in recent months.
The price increase may be due to the fact that Gate Group has applied for a Hong Kong Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) license, which will allow the crypto exchange to expand its presence and services there. Crypto exchanges around the world are becoming more focused on compliance, as regulators tighten oversight of the crypto market.
GT Price: TradingView
Optimism (OP)
Optimism (OP) posted a price increase of nearly 10% in the past week. This may be due to Coinbase announcing that it would build on Optimism’s Layer-2 network. The exchange will collaborate with Optimism on the Layer-2 blockchain, which is called Base. Optimism, like other Layer-2 solutions, offers increased transaction speed and increases throughput – the number of transactions a blockchain can process within a given time period – for Ethereum.
Developers also find more utility on the Optimism network. Some applications with increased use on the network are derivatives platform Synthetix and lending platform Aave. OP was priced at $2.66 at the start of the week and is now valued at approximately $2.90 (see chart below).
OP price: TradingView
