5 Coins to Watch Closely This Week: BTC, XRP, NEAR, TRX, ETC

Key Insights:

• BTC noted minor gains as bulls eyed the $40,000 mark, at press time.
• Nonetheless, the larger market has still moved in a rangebound movement.
• However, altcoins like XRP, NEAR, TRX and ETC have presented higher gains than the rest.

A new month often brings fresh price gains for the cryptocurrency market. However, the price pullback faced by bitcoin (BTC) and the larger market over the last month seemed to linger even as May began.

After a relatively slow first quarter, BTC recorded its worst-ever April performance to date. April 2022 was an unforgettable month for crypto traders and investors as BTC recorded a 20% fall in price.

Not just cryptocurrencies, equities saw a downtrend too. Notably, Nasdaq Composite also saw a close to 13% fall in April, marking one of the worst monthly performances for the Index since October 2008.

In the light of traditional assets’ performance, BTC’s rangebound price movement didn’t seem to hurt the eye. That said, on May 2, at the time of writing, bitcoin made minor strides, noting 2% daily gains as bulls aimed for a retest of the $40,000 mark.

Altcoins like XRP, NEAR, TRX, and ETC also made green candles on their short-term charts. So, let us look at how these top coins can perform this week.

Bitcoin (BTC)

On April 30, BTC’s price dipped to the lower support of $37,608. However, a quick rebound from the lower price level highlighted that bulls were defending it cautiously.

The 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), around $39,950, saw a prominent downward trend suggestive of an advantage to sellers. Nonetheless, a positive divergence on BTC’s daily relative strength index (RSI) indicated that buyers could become active as the sell-side pressure reduces.

A positive sign is that BTC has maintained its momentum above the lower support at $37,531. At the time of writing, BTC traded at $38,726.76, noting a 1.84% daily price gain.

If BTC’s upward momentum sustains, bulls could attempt to push the price above the $39,363 mark. A push above the $39,300 mark could further push the top coin above the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) at $41,954.

That said, macro-bullish trends persisted for the top cryptocurrency. Analyst Rekt Capital highlighted on Twitter that the number of unique addresses holding at least 10,000 BTC was in a macro uptrend, as it has been since mid-February 2022. This meant that whales were accumulating at these lower support levels.

Ripple (XRP)

At the time of writing, XRP was the top gainer on the daily charts in the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap noting close to 5% gains. The altcoin’s price started to decline on April 16 and fell to the lower support at the $0.56 mark.

After testing the lower price level at the $0.56 mark, XRP has finally resumed an uptrend. Since May 1, the coin’s price has surged by almost 12%. At the time of writing, XRP’s price oscillated at $0.61 after reaching intraday highs of $0.63 earlier.

Notably, XRP’s rangebound movement could be attributed to the delays in the Ripple-SEC lawsuit. Nonetheless, a positive buyer sentiment could be observed in XRP’s market as its RSI finally recovered from the oversold channel.

XRP’s RSI signaled heavy selling for the most part of last week, and recovery from the same into the neutral RSI zone could provide a decent entry point for investors. With buy-side pressure increasing for XRP, a relief rally could be expected in the short term.

Near Protocol (NEAR)

NEAR’s price slipped below the psychological barrier at $10 towards the end of April as sell sentiment ruled NEAR’s market. However, bulls were able to register a quick rebound on May 1 indicative of buying rising.

At the time of writing, NEAR traded at $11.43 noting a 2.49% rise over the last day. The altcoin was still down 16.69% on the weekly chart. A push from buyers above the $11.94 can aid the token’s upward trajectory in the short term.

The 200-day SMA, which is established at the $11.9 level can act as crucial resistance for the coin, this week.

However, if the price fails to hold the $10 level the same could lead NEAR traders into a bear trap. In that case, a correction to $9.5 and, then, to the lower support at $8.00 can be expected.

Tron (TRX)

Over the last month, TRX’s price registered a 19% decline from $0.078 to around $0.063, on May 1. At the time of writing, TRX noted close to 6% gains on the daily chart, trading at $0.07084.

On the weekly chart, tron was up by almost 13.00%, rallying on bullish market sentiment. However, its price was still down 75% from its ATH of $0.3004 made in January 2018. TRX’s short-term price rally was more or less due to the social attention the coin gained over the last month.

On April 21, for instance, Tron founder Justin Sun announced the plans to launch the network’s decentralized algorithmic stablecoin called USDD. The news of USDD’s release pushed TRX’s price up by 20% in just a day.

Likewise, towards the end of April, the network announced the allocation for its $1,111,111,111 ecosystem fund that it announced last November. These ecosystem-centric developments have aided TRX’s uptrend over the last couple of days.

TRX’s sustained uptrend above the $0.071 mark could further push the price to the $0.074 mark. However, waning social attention could result in a price pullback taking TRX back to the $0.061 mark.

Ethereum Classic (ETC)

ETC’s daily price chart shows that the coin has been in a long drawn downtrend since April 1. ETC lost almost 45% value over the last month as the larger sentiment for the coin remained bearish.

However, the token seemed to be on a better start recording minor gains on May 1. At the time of writing, ETC traded at $27.27, noting 1.82% gains. The coming days could be crucial to the coin’s trajectory as bulls would defend the lower support at the $26.5 mark.

Notably, RSI for ETC on a daily time frame presented a bullish divergence. RSI’s recovery from the oversold zone could confirm a relief rally for the coin in the short term. If bulls could push prices above the $30 psychological barrier, further upside could be expected.

However, if the price fails to maintain above the $30 mark over this week, another pullback to the $25.8 mark could be seen. That said, with ETC’s trade volumes still maintaining relatively low levels, a lack of retail interest could be seen for the coin.