Top cryptocurrencies to keep an eye on this week: J

The global cryptocurrency market cap experienced a significant surge of 7.9% this week, rising from $1.52 trillion to $1.64 trillion. While Bitcoin (BTC) played a major role in driving this impressive increase with its push above $44,500, other assets such as Jito (JTO), Solana (SOL), and Avalanche (AVAX) also made notable contributions.

Jito, a liquid staking platform built on the Solana blockchain, released its governance token JTO this week. On its debut, JTO started trading at $2.04 on December 7. The token saw an immediate surge, taking advantage of the overall market rally and achieving a massive 24-hour trade volume of $1.1 billion. Jito experienced an 80% increase in price, reaching $3.67 on December 8. However, the rally faced resistance at the $3.67 high, leading to a brief period of consolidation.

JTO eventually broke through the consolidation phase, supported by increased buying pressure and whale activity. Leveraging the resurgence, the crypto asset aimed for a $5 target and reached a new peak of $4.36 on December 9. However, the push to $5 was unsuccessful, and the asset experienced a decline to $3.34.

At the time of reporting, the token is trading at $3.36, marking a 64.7% increase for the week. To avoid dropping below the Friday lows below $3, JTO needs to hold above the support at $3.30. With a market cap of $382 million, Jito now ranks as the 147th largest cryptocurrency. The Jito initial coin offering (ICO) concluded on November 28.

Solana’s positive momentum this week also contributed to the optimism surrounding Jito. SOL reached new local highs, riding on the upward trend of Bitcoin and sustained buying pressure from whale addresses. Starting the week at $63, Solana successfully conquered the $70 territory, rallying 23.5% to a high of $77.78 on December 9. This price surge not only recovered the losses from the FTX collapse but also regained some of the losses from the Terra implosion.

Although Solana faced resistance at $77.78, it has maintained its upward trend and is currently trading at $71.94, representing a 2.64% drop today. Despite the decline, SOL remains above the 50-day EMA ($52.64) and the 200-day EMA ($34.23), indicating the sustainability of the bullish momentum in the short and long terms. The daily RSI for Solana is currently at 68, signaling a high level of buying activity during the upward trend. Anatoly Yakovenko, the founder of Solana and a former Qualcomm executive, shared insights about the platform’s early days in a social media post on December 9.

Avalanche stood out as one of the top performers this week, recording six consecutive intraday wins. The crypto asset started the week with a 3.37% gain on December 4, rising from $21.94 to $22.68. The upward trend continued the following day, with AVAX surging by 8.20% in an attempt to reclaim the $25 price level. Avalanche successfully reached the $25 target on December 6, extending the rally and surpassing the coveted $30 threshold on December 8. Remarkably, AVAX did not experience any intraday losses throughout the week.

However, due to the recent market downturn, the token is currently down 0.13% and trading at $31.87. Despite this, Avalanche has gained 45% this week. To maintain its upward trend during the temporary market correction, the asset must defend the $30.44 support level. Ava Labs, led by CEO Emin Gün Sirer, is the startup behind the Avalanche network.