Top-5 Cryptos This Week: XTZ, ATOM, XRP, XMR, BNB

The New York Digital Investment Group LLC (NYDIG) has received approval from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer its shares to institutional investors, including registered investment advisers, their clients and other eligible investors. 

The fund aims to invest in cash-settled BTC futures traded on exchanges that are registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Though the increasing number of offerings by various companies targeting the institutional investor is a positive sign, the larger players have been slow to invest in the space due to regulatory concerns and high volatility.   

Crypto market data weekly view. Source: Coin360

While the institutions have been cautious, China has been racing ahead in developing blockchain technology for “real-world, practical use cases that are far beyond the experimental stage,” according to a report by Forkast Insights, the research arm of Asia-based Forkast. This is a positive sign for the crypto space for the long-term.

A report by crypto exchange SFOX shows that Bitcoin searches usually peak before the holidays. The firm said that Bitcoin’s price rallied for three consecutive days before Thanksgiving on Nov. 28. 

Will the price move higher before Christmas? We will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, let’s analyze the charts of the top-five performers to see whether they show any bullish patterns. 

XTZ/USD

Tezos (XTZ) was the top performer of the past seven days by a huge margin. The traders cheered the news that Binance would support zero-fee staking for Tezos from Dec. 4. The rewards would be calculated daily and distributed monthly. Can the altcoin extend its momentum in the coming week? Let’s analyze its chart.

XTZ/USD weekly chart. Source: Tradingview

The XTZ/USD pair has been taking support close to the 20-week EMA for the past three weeks. The 20-week EMA has started to turn up and the RSI has jumped into the positive territory, which shows that bulls have the advantage. There is a minor resistance at $1.414152, above which a rally to $1.85 is likely.

A breakout of $1.85 will be a huge positive that will signal the start of a new uptrend. Above this level, a rally to $2.87 and then onwards to $3.37 is likely.

Contrary to our assumption, if the price turns down from the current levels or from the overhead resistance at $1.85, a few days of range-bound action is likely. The pair will weaken on a break below the critical support at $0.829651.

ATOM/USD

This is the second week in running that Cosmos (ATOM) has been among the top-performing major cryptocurrencies, which shows that it is backed by momentum. Can the altcoin build on its strength in the coming week or is it time to book profits? Let’s analyze the chart.

ATOM/USD weekly chart. Source: Tradingview

The bulls are attempting to propel the ATOM/USD pair above the overhead resistance at $4.4389. If successful, the pair will start a new upward move that can reach $7. Therefore, the traders can initiate long positions on a close (UTC time) above $4.4389, as suggested in our earlier analysis.

Contrary to our assumption, if the bears defend the overhead resistance at $4.4389, the price might dip to the first support at $3. If this level holds, range-bound action between $3 and $4.4389 might ensue. However, if $3 breaks down, a drop to $1.9101 is likely.

We expect the bulls to aggressively defend $1.9101. A bounce from this support will keep the price inside the large range between $4.4389 and $1.9101. 

XRP/USD

Ripple released a total of 1 billion XRP tokens from its escrow wallet on Dec. 2 but returned it back within seven minutes. Some believe that Ripple dumping XRP has led to a decrease in the token price. However, the company claims that selling is needed to grow its ecosystem and to fund its operations. 

In the ongoing court case to determine whether XRP is a security or not, Ripple has filed a motion to dismiss the class-action suit arguing that even if XRP were a security, the statute of repose had passed before the lawsuit was brought to court.

Following the footsteps of MorningStar Japan, Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings plans to pay shareholder dividends in the form of XRP tokens. Do the fundamental developments offer hope of a turnaround in prices? Let’s analyze its chart.

XRP/USD weekly chart. Source: Tradingview

The failure of the bears to capitalize on the break below the critical support at $0.22 indicates buying at lower levels. The bounce from the yearly low at $0.20041 has risen back above $0.22, which is a positive sign. If the bulls can propel the XRP/USD pair back above $0.24508, it will indicate that the markets have rejected the lower levels. We would turn positive if the price sustains above $0.24508.

However, if the bulls fail to push the price above $0.24508, the bears will again attempt to sink the price back below $0.20041. If successful, a drop to $0.18 is possible.

XMR/USD

The Monero (XMR) network successfully upgraded to RandomX on Nov. 30. The new upgrade uses random code execution together with memory-focused techniques and aims to be ASIC-resistant. Can the hard fork boost the price? Let’s study its chart.

XMR/USDT weekly chart. Source: Tradingview

The XMR/USD pair has reached close to the resistance line of the ascending channel. A breakout of the channel will be a positive sign but it is likely to face stiff resistance at the moving averages. 

If the price turns down from the moving averages, a drop to $38.83 to $45.4494 support zone is likely. If this support zone holds, the pair might consolidate for a few weeks before making its next directional move.

Conversely, if the bulls succeed in propelling the price above the moving averages, a rally to $98 and above it to $121.4270 is likely. Therefore, we retain the buy recommendation given in an earlier analysis.

BNB/USD

In its attempt to expand support to various fiat currencies for crypto trading, Binance listed four ruble trading pairs on Dec. 2. 

On Dec. 3, the exchange announced the acquisition of decentralized app (DApp) information startup DappReview for an undisclosed amount. 

“This acquisition marks a significant step into the dapps ecosystem, and we will have more exciting developments in the near future,” said Binance CFO Wei Zhou. 

Will these steps help in boosting the price of Binance Coin (BNB)? Let’s see what the technicals are showing.

BNB/USDT weekly chart. Source: Tradingview

The bulls have successfully defended the support at $14.2555 for the past three weeks. However, the rebound off the support has been weak, which shows a lack of aggressive buying at the current levels. The moving averages are on the verge of a bearish crossover, which is a negative sign.

If the bulls fail to propel the price above $16.50 within the next few days, the bears will attempt to sink the price back below $14.2555. A breakdown of the support will be a huge negative and can drag the price to $11.30.

Conversely, if the BNB/USD pair rises above the immediate overhead resistance at $16.50, a rally to $21.2378 is possible.  

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

The market data is provided by the HitBTC exchange.