The crypto market has been on a roll since March, but some of the initial rally winners are faltering lately. Rallies have gone from positive to negative, and momentum could be slipping for some of the popular digital currencies.
Bitcoin (BTC -2.20%), ApeCoin (APE 5.23%), and Loopring (LRC -3.12%) have all fallen by at least 4% to as much as 17% over the past seven days. Let's take a closer look at some of the cryptocurrencies that still have potential even after taking a step back this past week.
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Bitcoin: Down 4%
Bitcoin is the king of the hill when it comes to crypto, and its $860 billion market cap is more than the next dozen largest denominations combined. There's a laundry list of shortcomings when it comes to Bitcoin. It has a lot of ground to make up compared to glitzier cryptocurrencies that can fly through the blockchain with ease.
However, what Bitcoin lacks in efficiency and use cases it more than makes up in branding. It's the Golden Arches of crypto. It's probably the only digital currency that's known by the non-investing masses. It's taking baby steps to improve its functionality, but it doesn't have to be nimble to stay on top. It's Bitcoin. It's where mainstream financial services companies and individuals turn when they want that first taste of crypto. Wasn't it your first cryptocurrency investment?
It may be trading lower over the past week, but it's still up 15% over the past month. It won't lead every rally on the way up, but it should hold up well as a "flight to safety" pick when younger denominations start to come undone.
ApeCoin: Down 15%
ApeCoin has only been on the market for less than a month, but it's already proving mortal after hitting the ground running in mid-March. The token is tied loosely to Bored Ape Yacht Club, a leader in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that turned heads with its unique digital collectibles.
It's easy to dismiss this trendy debutante as just another meme coin, but ApeCoin isn't wasting any time in establishing viable use cases to make it more legit. There are already trailers for an upcoming metaverse game called Otherside, where folks will be able to use NFTs from various popular collections as their avatars. ApeCoin should be the currency used for in-game purchases.
ApeCoin will likely have to do more to justify its $3.2 billion valuation. It's still too soon to dismiss ApeCoin's chances. If it's able to make a dent in the crypto market the way that Bored Ape Yacht Club did to the NFT world, it will bounce back.
Loopring: Down 17%
Sometimes a bad week comes after a blowout one. Loopring's LRC token soared nearly 50% two weeks ago, after playing a starring role in GameStop's push to become an NFT force. The video game retailer's NFT marketplace platform is built on Loopring's services, and the beta launch two weeks ago opens the door for deeper Loopring connections with the iconic meme stock.
Loopring is able to use its Layer 2 solutions on blockchains to run crypto wallet services and digital asset marketplaces. There was chatter last year that GameStop wanted to buy the blockchain services organization behind Loopring. It fell through presumably, but there is still room to grow if GameStop's initial foray into this niche prove successful and it keeps leaning on Loopring. The correction this past week is normal after the speculative surge, but the upticks will naturally return if Loopring's popularity continues to ascend.
