Top cryptocurrencies to watch this week: XRP, PYTH, SUI
Among the top cryptocurrencies to watch this week are XRP (XRP), the native token of the Ripple network, as well as Pyth Network (PYTH) and Sui (SUI).
Each asset made noticeable contributions to the global crypto market cap, which remained above the $1.6 trillion mark over the past week despite the sustained market uncertainties, rising 1.86% to $1.64 trillion.
XRP struggles at $0.51
XRP has not given investors much reason to be optimistic recently, and this week added to these growing concerns.
The crypto asset began the week touting a 2.11% rise on Jan. 29. However, XRP gave up all these gains, with a 4.57% collapse on Jan. 30. This decline coincided with developments around the Ripple vs. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case. The agency recently made a demand for financial documents from Ripple.
The decline spilled into the last day of January, leading to a breach below the $0.51, $0.50 and $0.49 support levels. XRP eventually dropped to a three-month low of $0.4855 on Jan. 31. Despite recovering the $0.49 and $0.50 territories, XRP ended the day bearish, closing January with an 18% crash.
The bearish pressure persisted amid a massive 198% surge in whale transactions involving XRP, as reported by crypto.news. Whale transactions spiked considerably to a yearly high of 1,827 on Jan. 30, with large investors compounding the existing selling pressure.
The bearish trend was further exacerbated by reports of a hacking incident affecting Ripple’s co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen. The Ripple chairman confirmed the hack, which led to losing $112.5 million worth of XRP.
XRP collapsed 5% on the heels of the event.
The asset has continued to struggle at the crucial $0.51 territory. XRP has defended this level zealously, looking to leverage it for an upsurge once the market recovers fully. XRP has recorded three consecutive green days in February, helping it to recover above $0.51.
