Cryptocurrencies to watch: Week of March 20

Keep an eye on these coins

The cryptocurrency market experienced a sudden increase in value in the last week, after a longer tough period. The current turmoil in the banking sector seems to have given a boost to the crypto market, especially Bitcoin, as some investors are opting for digital assets for diversification.

This week we examine Bitcoin (BTC), Conflux (CFX), Mask Network (MASK), Fantom (FTM) and Neo (NEO). In selecting these assets, we have considered several factors, including positive technical developments, important news events and noticeable price changes.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied over the past week, gaining about 25%. The cryptocurrency has finally broken through its recent resistance levels, signifying the price zone that the digital asset has had trouble breaking through in technical analysis.

The driver for this sudden increase may be turbulent global economic conditions. Historically, investors have flocked to Bitcoin when there have been troubling events in traditional markets. Many bank failures, inflation rates, and dollar liquidity decisions by the US Federal Reserve may all have contributed to Bitcoin’s price rise.

BTC is hovering around $28,067 after trading around $22,450 last week (see chart below).

Conflux (CFX)

Conflux (CFX) was the biggest gainer this week, with the CFX token more than doubling in price and crossing the $1 billion market cap. There are several possible factors fueling the price increase, one of which is the project’s integration with China’s version of Instagram, Xiaohongshu. The project also announced the launch of SIM cards using Conflux Network’s blockchain support in collaboration with China Telecom.

Conflux is a blockchain network that offers fast transaction processing for everything from non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to cryptocurrency wallets. CFX started last week at around 19 cents and is now priced at around 43 cents (see chart below).

Mask Network (MASK)

Mask Network’s MASK token (MASK) was another big gainer in the past week, rising more than 80%. The jump may be linked to trades by large buyers – known as whales in crypto terminology – and the fact that crypto exchange Binance added the asset to its proof-of-reserve system along with 10 other tokens.

The crypto whales’ purchase of large sums of MASK has again attracted a larger number of smaller buyers. Proof of reserves is a transparent auditing practice for crypto companies like Binance that provides an objective report of the companies’ assets in reserve. MASK is now around $5.80 after being priced at around $3.20 last week (see chart below).

Phantom (FTM)

Fantom (FTM) coin increased by more than 24%, likely due to a mainnet upgrade and possibly in line with the fact that the project offers some of the lowest transaction fees on the market. Mainnet is used to describe the point at which a blockchain protocol is fully developed and distributed, with crypto transactions being broadcast, verified and recorded on a distributed ledger. Phantom’s upgrade allows the network to process certain files and logs faster.

Phantom’s latest upgrade also increases block processing time by 30%. This metric determines how quickly each block of transactions completes. FTM is now valued at around 48 cents after trading last week at 39 cents (see chart below).

Neo (NEO)

NEO (NEO) coin increased in price by around 20%, possibly because cryptocurrencies with a presence in China are experiencing a resurgence, according to a crypto analyst on Twitter. The fact that since the end of 2022 Hong Kong has adopted a more friendly attitude towards crypto trading may be another reason for the token’s gain.

NEO is a general crypto network and ecosystem that offers features such as decentralized storage, smart contract functionality, and decentralized applications, known as dApps. NEO is now valued at around $12.65, but was trading at around $10.70 last week (see chart below).

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