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Blue-chip cryptocurrency markets have been chopping all over the place on Friday, amid a wave of option expiries on the final day of trade of the year for traditional asset markets (crypto markets never shut, so the final day of trade of the year will be the 31st of December).
Bitcoin (BTC) dipped just over 1% and was last trading around $42,000 after a record more than $11 billion in options rolled off.
The expansion of the crypto derivatives market to new record heights should be viewed as a positive long-term sign for the market, given it suggests rising involvement by more sophisticated market participants (many of whom will be institutional), validating crypto as an asset class.
Ether (ETH) was last trading around $2,300, down just over 2% in the past 24 hours as per CoinMarketCap, while BNB (BNB) was down 5.5% and Solana (SOL) up just over 7%.
Traders are looking ahead to key drivers in 2024 that include potential near-term spot Bitcoin ETF approvals in the US, Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade, the Bitcoin issuance rate halving, the prospect of the start of a new Fed interest rate cutting cycle, US elections and further developments in various major crypto lawsuits, including the US SEC vs Ripple and the US SEC versus Binance and Coinbase.
While trade in blue chip markets is likely to remain choppy in the next few days, the highly volatile and illiquid low cap shitcoin/meme coin market continues to see explosive exponential moves.
Here are some of the biggest gainers today on the decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol DEXTools.
Catcoin ($CAT)
After a quiet first few days following its launch last week, a shitcoin called Catcoin ($CAT) has seen a sudden 400% pump higher, as per DEXTools.
$CAT last had a market cap of just over $1.4 million amid $800,000 in 24-hour trading volumes, with the token having accumulated over 540 holders and $400,000 in unlocked liquidity.
Investors should be cautious, given unlocked liquidity means the token could end up as a rug pull.
That being said, $CAT has no concerning aspects to its smart contract as per DEXTools’ smart contract audit.
PolarSync ($POLAR)
Blockchain data query protocol PolarSync ($POLAR) has seen its native token explode 150% higher in the last 24-hours, making it one of the best shitcoin performers as per DEXTools.
It last had a market cap of around $2.5 million, unlocked liquidity of around $165,000 and over 1,600 holders.
However, relatively low 24-hour trading volumes of just over $60,000 is a warning sign that the recent bounce lacks conviction and could easily reverse if a few big sell orders come in.
WhatBot ($WHAT)
WhatBot ($WHAT), the newly launched native token of a protocol that claims to aim to simplify token creation, marketing and management, has pumped an impressive 150% in the past 24 hours as per DEXTools.
$WHAT’s market cap was last at a still modest $180,000, with just over $125,000 in liquidity, 250 holders and 24-hour trading volumes of around $65,000.
Potential investors should take note of the four issues with $WHAT’s smart contract that DEXTools’ security audit identified, as well as the token’s 3% by and sell tax.
Crypto Alternatives to Consider
Low-cap coins can offer huge potential returns but also come with a lot of risk.
For those looking for a better probability of near-term gains, an alternative high-risk, high-reward investment strategy to consider is getting involved in crypto presales.
This is where investors buy the tokens of upstart crypto projects to help fund their development.
These tokens are nearly always sold cheaply, and there is a long history of presales delivering huge exponential gains to early investors.
Many of these projects have fantastic teams behind them and a great vision to deliver a revolutionary crypto application/platform.
If an investor can identify such projects, the risk/reward of their presale investment is very good.
The team at Cryptonews spends a lot of time combing through presale projects to help investors out.
Here is a list of 15 of what the project deems as the best crypto presales of 2023.
See the 15 Cryptocurrencies
Disclosure: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. By using this website, you agree to our terms and conditions. We may utilize affiliate links within our content, and receive commission.
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