Top 3 Trending Coins: QNT Hot Streak Continues as APE, MATIC Lag

Key Points

• Cryptocurrencies are a little higher on Wednesday but within recent ranges as they await US CPI data for direction.
• QNT is once again an outperformer in the crypto top 50, as it eyes a pennant breakout towards $90.
• APE is a strong performer, but its technicals look bearish, while MATIC is a weak performer with positive technicals.

Market Update

Cryptocurrency prices are broadly a little higher on Wednesday amid a modest technical rebound after Tuesday’s drop. But sentiment is indecisive across asset classes in the run-up to the release of key US Consumer Price Index data for June that will give a timely update on the state of US inflation.

Bitcoin was last trading just under $20,000, up over 2.0% on the day, but still threatening a bearish breakout below a bearish flag pattern. Ethereum, meanwhile, was last changing hands around $1,070, as the cryptocurrency eyes a possible test of the key $1,000 level.

Traders are nervous that an upside surprise in the coming US inflation report could trigger another puke in risk assets like stocks and crypto, like what happened this time last month. But some hope that the data will contain evidence of US price pressures having “peaked”, which could support crypto sentiment.

For more on how crypto might react to the upcoming US CPI report, read here.

Quant (QNT)

The native token to the Quant multi-blockchain meta-protocol QNT continues to hold its rank as the best performing cryptocurrency in the top 50 by market capitalization in the last seven days, as per CoinMarketCap. Over that time period, QNT’s gains stand at nearly 40%.

In the last 24 hours, QNT is up around 4.5%, making it the second-best performing cryptocurrency in the top 50 over this time period, second only to ApeCoin, which is up around 5.0% (but still down around 8.0% in the last seven days). QNT/USD was last changing hands in the $83s, as the cryptocurrency continues to eye a test of weekend highs in the $90 area.

Quant’s latest surge was triggered by a bullish breakout above a downtrend that had been capping the price action since early May. Over the last few days, the cryptocurrency has consolidated within a flag/pennant structure. A bearish break could signal a fall back to sub-$0.70 levels, while a bullish break could see QNT surge to fresh multi-month highs above $90.

ApeCoin (APE)

As noted above, ApeCoin is the best performing cryptocurrency in the top 50 by market cap with gains of around 5.0% in the last 24 hours. APE/USD is trading just under $4.50, having seen a decent rebound from a test of late-June lows in the $4.20 area.

But APE/USD is still trading lower by about 6.5% on the week, with the cryptocurrency’s near-term technical outlook having taken a substantial turn for the worse in recent days. On Monday, APE broke below a pennant structure that has been in formation since mid-June.

Bearish technicians think that this break has opened the door for APE/USD to eventually fall all the way back to the $3.0 area in the weeks ahead if broader crypto sentiment takes a significant turn for the worse. For now, support at $4.20 is a decent base.

Should macro developments this week trigger a broad crypto rally, APE/USD could recover back towards recent highs in the $5.0-$5.50 area. But traders should note resistance in the form of the 21 and 50-Day Moving Averages at $4.70 and $5.05 respectively.

Polygon (MATIC)

The native token to Polygon’s blockchain MATIC is the worst-performing cryptocurrency of the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Over this time period, MATIC has fallen over 3.5% to around $0.555. While MATIC/USD has mustered a limited recovery from earlier session lows close to $0.53, after finding support at its 50DMA in the $0.535 area on Wednesday, it is still down about 2.5% on the week.

Looking at Polygon’s MATIC from a technical perspective, the near-term technical outlook is mixed/positive. Beginning with the positives, since its break above its 50DMA back on 7 July, MATIC/USD has been able to hold above it, despite repeated tests in recent days. This would normally be viewed as a positive short-term technical signal.

However, MATIC/USD also continues to probe a downtrend linking his all the way going back to mid-May. The pair hasn’t been able to muster a significant break above this downtrend, but nor has it convincingly rejected the downtrend. Rather, it has just been flirting with it over the past four sessions.

This could reflect indecision ahead of key upcoming macro events that could give broader cryptocurrency markets some direction. Should crypto sentiment take a turn for the better this week and MATIC muster a convincing break above the current downtrend it is struggling with, the door would be open for a swift rally back above $0.60 and a test of recent highs in the $0.62-$0.63 area.

Traders should also be cognizant of the risk of a fall below an uptrend support level that has been offering support since mid-June. Such a break would signify a likely retest of this year’s annual lows in the low-$0.30s in the coming weeks.