Global economic uncertainties are taking a massive toll on the cryptocurrency industry. In 2021, the market situation was different since cryptocurrencies were performing well. Bitcoin, for instance, made it to the $68,000 mark by November 2021. Ethereum also had a positive rebound as it hit an all-time high of $4,891 in November 2021. At the time, low-interest rates and increased participation from retail/institutional investors were among the top contributors to the growth of digital currencies.
The current market slump is, however, creating a bearish momentum that seems unrecoverable. This downturn begs the question of whether cryptocurrencies will hold out as the world attempts to destabilize.
A Performance Outlook and Future Expectations
The ongoing market sell-off isn’t sparing virtual currencies as the ecosystem continues to shed its overall market cap. Determining the future direction of cryptocurrencies will therefore begin with a performance evaluation of the leading digital assets. Users can further look into the progress of these assets with Coincodex, a platform that provides analytical crypto data.
Below is a highlight of what the market can expect from the best-performing cryptocurrencies. They include:
Bitcoin
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $21,130 with a dominating market cap of $403B. This value follows a series of price corrections which began to dwindle gradually in March 2022. By June 2022, the asset moved further downwards to attain a price of $18,000.
From a macro standpoint, an increase in the inflation rates had a negative impact on the value of Bitcoin. Data shows that the Consumer Price Index rose by 1% pushing the inflation level to 8.6%. Thus, an increased inflation rate will force investors to liquidate their BTC holdings.
While Bitcoin prices are falling, a section of analysts believes that the number one cryptocurrency is capable of making it through the economic turmoil. On one hand, experts are optimistic that BTC could reach $100,000 while a few believe that it could drop below $10,000.
Ethereum
Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency with a market value of $1,212. The asset derives most of its value from various use-cases which support the development of decentralized applications. Ethereum’s price is also facing a similar market movement to Bitcoin despite being a major player in the DeFi world.
As mentioned earlier, ETH hit an all-time high of 4,891 in November 2021. Going by its current prices, Ethereum’s value is down by 75% since November 2021. Factors such as war, inflation, and the COVID-19 pandemic are directly affecting the price of Ethereum.
Nonetheless, many industry experts have high hopes that the second-largest crypto will rise again, particularly due to the introduction of a PoS consensus. This ambitious initiative aims to improve Ethereum’s transaction system by replacing mining procedures with a staking mechanism. This infrastructural change could help boost the network’s transaction speeds and lower trading fees.
Cardano
Cardano ranks as the 8th digital asset in the market with a current price of $0.5025. The blockchain-focused network allows users to develop decentralized applications and smart contracts.
In 2021, Cardano kicked off the year with a market cap of $5.5B and each ADA token was trading at $0.18. By the end of the year, ADA’s value rose to $1.46 with a market cap of $49B. In spite of its strong fundamentals, Cardano’s price is registering a downward trend attributed to various economic factors.
Close to 70% of investors were holding their ADA coins through the network’s staking feature as of May 2022. Today, the native asset (ADA), is down by 80% since September 2021. Investors are hurriedly selling their digital coins to manage the effects of inflation.
The future of Cardano is, however, set to change as the economic conditions become friendlier. In June 2022 alone, more than 1000 projects were establishing their infrastructures through the network’s blockchain. Moreover, 40% of these projects were NFT-based protocols. Analysts’ Cardano price prediction states that the growing popularity and adoption of Cardano could boost ADA’s current price by about 30% as we start Q3 2022.
Binance Coin (BNB)
Wrapping up the list is BNB, the fourth largest digital currency with a market cap of $38.5B. The asset mainly works as a trading tool that settles exchange and listing fees on the Binance platform.
BNB’s downtrend in the market is evident as it lost nearly 65% of its value since May 2021. The asset made headlines in 2021 after it reached an all-time high of $686. At the time of writing, BNB is trading at $235 per token. Like any other digital asset today, BNB’s downfall is linked to common contributors like inflation and unclear regulatory policies.
Even so, industry players expect the asset to trade at a minimum and maximum cost of $354 and $413, respectively. On average, investors anticipate trading the asset at $368 in 2022.
The application of BNB on the Binance Smart Chain could help foster the asset’s growth. Essentially, Binance Smart Chain provides developers with a platform where they can launch their DApps. The chain has a better advantage over Ethereum because it addresses scalability concerns and implements lower trading fees.
Final Word
Pointing out the exact direction of digital assets and their prices may be challenging.
Although, one thing is for sure; cryptocurrencies are undoubtedly highly volatile assets subject to losses.
At the same time, various factors could uplift the entire market and make the industry lucrative once more. In that respect, the crypto space will eventually rebound as the world’s economic situation begins to improve.
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