Bitcoin Gets #1 Spot Amid Crypto Market Turmoil—Top 3 Coins to Watch for Nov 14—Nov 20

We’re in the middle of a chaotic period for the cryptocurrency markets. The sudden collapse of the FTX exchange and its subsequent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing have shaken investor confidence and crashed the prices for many crypto assets. Let’s take a look at 3 cryptocurrencies that will be especially interesting to follow in the next few days.

3. Solana (SOL)

Solana is a high-performance blockchain platform with smart contract capabilities. After launching its mainnet in 2020, Solana has emerged as one of the most credible competitors to Ethereum in the smart contracts sector. Solana uses a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism combined with innovations like Proof-of-History, which allow the blockchain to handle thousands of transactions per second while keeping costs low for users. The Solana project has attracted high-profile backers like Alameda Research, Polychain and Andreessen Horowitz.

Why Solana? SOL markets will be fascinating to watch in wake of FTX collapse

The FTX crisis has had a devastating effect on the SOL market. After rumors about the potential insolvency of FTX and Alameda Research began to intensify early in the week, SOL holders began to sell their coins en masse as it was becoming more likely that Alameda would have to sell its substantial SOL holdings to access liquidity. The massive selling pressure unleashed on the Solana market brought the SOL price from around $36 on November 6 all the way down to a local bottom of $10.90 on November 9.

FTX and Alameda Research have invested in several Solana-based projects, and the Solana ecosystem will be losing an important backer if the two companies are indeed going to collapse. As more details about the FTX / Alameda Research saga come out, the SOL markets will certainly be worth watching in the next few days.

Despite the recent chaos, however, there have still been positive signs showing that the Solana project has its sights set on the long term. The Solana Mobile project is still underway, with the release of the Solana-friendly Saga smartphone being expected for early 2023. According to an update on the Solana Mobile website, Ledger will be integrating support for the Solana Mobile Stack (SMS) into its Ledger Live wallet software. In addition, Helium will provide a free 30-day subscription to the Helium Mobile 5G network to Saga phone owners in the United States.

On November 5, Google Cloud revealed that they are running a Solana validator. Google’s cloud computing arm also said that next year, customers will be able to launch dedicated Solana nodes on Google Cloud.

2. BNB (BNB)

BNB is a token that was launched by the Binance cryptocurrency exchange in 2017. BNB serves two primary functions. Holders of the token get access to special benefits when using Binance – this includes lower trading fees, access the exchange’s Launchpad and Launchpool programs, cashback on Binance Visa card purchases, and more. The token is also used as the native asset of the BNB Chain blockchain. BNB Chain is a variant of Ethereum that offers significantly lower transaction fees to users, and it allows developers to easily deploy EVM-compatible decentralized applications. Previously known as Binance Coin, BNB has now gone through an extensive rebranding.

Why BNB? Binance is poised to strengthen its position

With the collapse of FTX, Binance is poised to capture an even bigger share of the cryptocurrency exchange market, where it already has a dominant position. Even though Binance has been intentionally creating distance between its business and the BNB token in the last few years, BNB is still utilized widely in Binance’s products and is viewed by many crypto investors as an indirect way of betting on Binance’s success.

Binance recently announced their intentions to publish Merkle tree-based proof of funds, which could help strengthen trust in the exchange at a time when trust in centralized cryptocurrency exchanges might very well be at an all-time low.

It’s worth keeping in mind that the massive price crash of FTX’s FTT token might have soured crypto investors on exchange tokens in general, which could be a negative influence on BNB as well. However, BNB is used as the native asset on the popular BNB Chain blockchain platform, which could make it more resilient than other exchange tokens.

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency ever invented, and remains the most valuable crypto asset on the market to this day. Bitcoin has a fixed supply limit of 21 million coins, and new coins enter circulation in a predictable manner – for this reason, some investors regard Bitcoin as a digital alternative to gold. The Bitcoin network is maintained by «miners» that deploy their computer hardware to solve computationally-intensive mathematical problems and compete with each other to add the next block to the Bitcoin blockchain.

Bitcoin pioneered blockchain technology and provides a censorship-resistant and highly secure network that allows users to send value to each other worldwide on a 24/7 basis. The network has been operating successfully since its launch in early 2009.

Why Bitcoin? Tough market conditions could give us a better idea of where BTC could bottom

Although the FTX / Alameda saga has captured practically all of the attention in the cryptocurrency markets recently, we shouldn’t forget that Bitcoin still reigns supreme in crypto. During the market turmoil, BTC briefly fell under the $16,000 level. Buyers stepped in to provide support at $15,800, and the positive U.S. inflation news provided a timely boost to bring BTC back above $17,000.

In the 2018 Bitcoin bear market, BTC bottomed out at roughly $3,200 from a peak of $20,000—a decrease of about 84%.

Bitcoin set its current all-time high in November 2021, at a price of roughly $68,700. If the price were to retrace by 84% from this peak, Bitcoin would be trading at about $11,000. This suggests that there could still be substantial room to fall for Bitcoin (under the assumption that the retracement will be as deep as it was in 2018).

The collapse of FTX and Alameda Research is expected to have a domino effect on many crypto industry players—for example, crypto lender BlockFi announced on November 11 that the company is “not able to operate business as usual” and froze withdrawals until further notice.

With the full scale of the FTX meltdown still unknown, it’s probably wise to be prepared for a scenario where the BTC price heads even lower. Meanwhile, it will be worth watching the traditional markets for positive signs that could also result in a more optimistic outlook for BTC.

Source