Aptos (APT -1.88%) is among the cryptocurrencies seeing impressive price appreciation today. As of 1:20 p.m. ET, Aptos is up 7.1% over the past 24 hours. Zooming out over the past week, this token's incline is even more impressive, with the project gaining a full 34% over that period.
Indeed, most investor attention continues to rightly be placed on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a host of other major blockchain networks, which have seen similar moves higher. That said, Aptos' price action over both the past day and the past week have outpaced these two megacap projects. What is driving this move?
Interest around alternative Layer-1 networks remains high
It's worth pointing out that Aptos is a relatively new crypto project, launched almost exactly one year ago. In fact, on Oct. 19 (the one-year anniversary of its launch), Aptos saw a major outage that caused its network to effectively be unusable for five hours. That's obviously not great, and led to a token price decline, which one could argue set a relatively low bar for Aptos to bounce off of.
And bounce Aptos has. The Layer-1 network has seen its cryptocurrency surge from below $5 apiece to roughly $6.65 at the time of writing. This move can be partly attributed to Aptos' unique status as a proof-of-stake blockchain using the novel smart contract programming language called Move to enable faster and cheaper transactions on its blockchain. Thus, many crypto enthusiasts often tie Aptos to a number of decentralized applications within the Web3 world, with particular emphasis on the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Thus, the recent announcement that AptosOne has launched Graffio, which is described as "a unique platform where users display art via NFTs" has seemingly inspired some serious demand for Aptos tokens. This platform appears to be aimed at simplifying the creation of NFT art, and democratizing this space further. For those interested in this space, that certainly seems like a broad positive.
What's next for Aptos?
I have to admit, I'm surprised to see an NFT-focused project surge to the degree it has over the past week. Aptos' Graffio launch, while interesting to a certain investor group I'm sure, may not be enough to move the needle for outside investors. That said, for those viewing the Aptos token as representative of the value created and utilized within its network, perhaps there's a valid fundamental investment thesis supporting this move.
Aptos' unique smart contract programming language, its focus on the decentralized finance space, and its core technological infrastructure are certainly intriguing as an entire package. That's a thesis I can understand, and one the market appears to be taking to heart today. Certainly, this is a token with some serious momentum right now, and if bullish sentiment continues to build in the crypto space, I wouldn't be surprised to see Aptos run from here.
