Despite broad sales in the overall crypto market over the past month, some altcoin projects are starting to distinguish themselves from the group and reap impressive returns. At a time when market giants like Bitcoin are struggling to find momentum, a handful of cryptocurrencies are reversing the trend. Some have increased more than 30 percent in the last 30 days.
Consulting giant draws attention to three altcoin projects
Analysts of The Motley Fool, a major consulting firm, pointed to three cryptocurrencies that have been bullish recently. Three cryptocurrencies not particularly noteworthy were Litecoin (LTC), ApeCoin (APE) and Stacks (STX). Each of these has a solid investment argument going into 2023, according to experts. Each has shown explosive potential recently. Here are cryptocurrencies…
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin remains one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world for over a decade since its launch as a form of “Bitcoin lite” in 2011. While Litecoin has inherent value as a form of payment, the primary reason for the 25 percent increase in its price over the past 30 days is related to an event known as the crypto world halving in 2023. During the halving event, the reward for mining the affected token’s block on the Blockchain is halved. This lowers the supply growth rate of that token over time. It makes the new supply of the token more scarce.
The combination of these factors has historically been good news for traders. Litecoin has followed a predictable pattern every four years. Its price tended to rise before the halving. For example, before the 2015 halving, Litecoin’s price rose from $3.62 in early November 2014 to $5.05 in July 2015. It is debatable whether this price increase is due to the halving or general market sentiment. At least according to theory, a decrease in Litecoin supply growth should trigger an increase in price.
Since this pattern was observed in 2015 and 2019, it is not surprising that traders think it will repeat in 2023. Now with the next Litecoin halving scheduled for August 2023, there is still time to tap into this upside potential. The biggest caveat here, of course, is that Litecoin price tends to drop after the halving. So this could only be a short-term market opportunity to take advantage of in early 2023.
ApeCoin (APE)
ApeCoin is the service and governance token of the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem. Bored Ape Yacht Club is arguably the most successful non-fungible token (NFT) collection ever, so there was a lot of excitement around ApeCoin when it was released in March. However, the NFT market crashed in May, and the floor prices of NFTs have generally fallen over the past six months. Feelings for Bored Apes in general have also plummeted. ApeCoin has now dropped a shocking 90 percent from its all-time high in March, and some investors have completely abandoned NFTs as a form of cryptoassets.
But there is one key factor that could put ApeCoin ahead in 2023: the return of the NFT market. Based on the base prices of Bored Ape NFTs that have increased over the past 30 days, there is an expectation that ApeCoin will finally fulfill its initial hype and excitement. Also, ApeCoin recently launched staking rewards for coin and NFT holders, which strengthened the rising sentiment. As a result, ApeCoin has increased 36 percent in the last 30 days. The big question, of course, is whether it’s just a “dead cat bounce”.
Stacks (STX)
Stacks is a layer-1 blockchain designed to bring smart contracts, NFTs and decentralized applications to Bitcoin. This is important because Bitcoin does not offer any of the advanced features of typical layer-1 blockchains. One way to think of Stacks is that it benefits Bitcoin without forking or modifying the original Bitcoin Blockchain. For example, you cannot currently stake Bitcoin. However, you can earn staking rewards on your Bitcoin using Stacks. There are many other use cases for the token, such as being able to mint NFTs for Bitcoin.
Therefore, the best way to think about Stacks, according to analysts, is that it is really an indirect play on Bitcoin. If Bitcoin is performing well, then Stacks should also be performing well. But if Bitcoin is weakening, Stacks is likely to weaken as well. Unfortunately, that means Stacks has had a heartbreaking 2022. It is currently down 93% from its all-time high in November 2021. It’s also only increased 8% in the last 30 days.
Investors need to ask whether they believe Stacks can do this again and more sustainably. However, given that the value of Stacks is very much tied to the value of Bitcoin, Stacks may turn its back on any bull market run of Bitcoin in 2023. Some traders now think that Stacks could rise to $1.50 from the current $0.25 level in the second half of 2023. If you’re looking for a highly speculative crypto game for under $1, this might be the coin you’re looking for.
Which cryptocurrency to buy first?
The top priority of these three coins, according to the consulting giant, is Litecoin, which has already started its pre-halving rally. The narrative behind Litecoin is easy to understand, with a historical track record of performance. There is a clear date when Litecoin will experience the third halving. The second coin will be ApeCoin, which is much more risky and volatile than Litecoin. Litecoin has a strong track record of more than 11 years, as we have also reported as Kriptokoin.com. In contrast, ApeCoin has been around for less than 11 months. Also, NFTs as assets are so new that we don’t know how their prices will behave neither in the near term nor in the long term.