Cryptocurrencies To Watch: Week of September 12

Keep An Eye On These Coins

The crypto market has shown tentative signs of breaking out of the bearish slump that has persisted for months. Several assets are showing improvements in price, not the least of which is Ethereum (ETH), which has dominated the news cycle in recent weeks.

This week, other cryptocurrencies deserve some attention, along with Ethereum (ETH). It includes, Ethereum Classic (ETC), Cardano (ADA), Axie Infinity (AXIE), and Chainlink (LINK). In selecting these assets, we have considered several factors, including, but not limited to, positive technical developments, significant news events, and noticeable changes in price.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum blockchain network is undergoing one of its most defining changes in years — The Merge, which will transition the network into a Proof-of-Stake one. The event, which is only a few days away, has resulted in an approximate 11% increase in the price of ETH over the past 7 days.

The Merge will also result in ETH becoming a deflationary cryptocurrency, which should result in the asset’s price increasing over time. However, this may take some time, as miners now receive 5 million ETH annually, with the post-Merge stakers’ reward dropping to 1 million ETH per year.

Ethereum Classic (ETC)

Ethereum Classic (ETC) is another network that has been making headlines because of its association with Ethereum. ETC has been experiencing an even greater price bounce than ETH, with the token jumping by over 20% over the past 7 days.

One of the reasons that this could be happening is that a lot of ETH miners are jumping ship to other networks, and ETC has begun to be the beneficiary of that migration. With ETH dropping mining after The Merge, those miners are now looking elsewhere to carry out their operations. ETC network has consistently broken hashrate records multiple times over recent weeks.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is seen as a competitor to Ethereum, and the network has been breaking out of its research and development phase in the past 18 months. ADA market cap increased by over 5% over the past 7 days. 

However, even if the jump hasn’t been as strong as its Ethereum counterparts, there is reason to keep an eye on ADA. The network will launch its Vasil hard fork on September 22, focusing on network stability and bringing improvements to the smart contract platform Plutus.

Axie Infinity (AXS)

Axie Infinity has been a strong name in the crypto market for well over a year now and is one of the most popular gaming-focused projects. AXS market cap saw a surge of over 5% in the past 7 days.

The Axie Infinity project made the headlines this week when it announced that Google Cloud would validate transactions on the Ronin Network. Google Cloud will be running a validator node on the gaming-focused Ethereum sidechain. The AxieCon event is possibly another reason for the network to show positive activities. 

Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink has also been receiving some updates in recent weeks, which has done well for its token. LINK has seen a 10% increase in price over the past 7 days in the wake of this news, and it forces one to monitor the token more closely.

Among the news is the fact that it has launched a new price feed for Web3 projects, which will help data manipulation attacks and outlier events like flash crashes. It also announced updates on its climate initiatives, revealing support for global carbon credit standards and robust incentive models. One of these notable updates is that developers can use the Balancer (BAL)/USD price feed to build secure DeFi markets around the Balancer token. Chainlink’s annual SmartCon is scheduled for the end of September, and that might also increase the hype around the project.

Investing in cryptocurrencies and other initial coin offerings (ICOs) is highly risky and speculative, and this article is not a recommendation by Investopedia or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies or other ICOs. Because each individual’s situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein. As of the date when this article was written, the author does not own the cryptocurrencies mentioned above.