LEO and TRX only top 100 gainers in 2022: Can traders HODL their nerves?
Updated
Two altcoins are standing out from the crowd as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies struggle in conjunction with stock markets and broader macroeconomic trends.
Following the latest cryptocurrency sell-off, unus sed leo (LEO) and tron (TRX) are the only coins in the top 100 that are up year-to-date. Are the coins HODL material? Or are they just the last finishers in the race to the bottom?
Sailing cryptocurrency waters, with their ups-and-downs, is not for the faint-hearted. To avoid panic-selling during market downturn, crypto traders use the HODL strategy.
This unusual term first came about as a misspelling of ‘hold’ in an online forum, but eventually got a meaning of its own – as an abbreviation for hold on [for] dear life. The term HODL basically expresses the conviction that, no matter how deep the market is currently sinking, a coin or token’s value will eventually rise again.
What is your sentiment on BTC/USD?
TRX to USD
Market experiencing downturn
The market is currently experiencing one such downturn, The total combined value of the cryptocurrency sector has shrunk by 50% since November’s highs. Bitcoin by itself is down about 50% from its November peak. So it is lonely for LEO and TRX at the top.
Of the 100 biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization (excluding stablecoins), only LEO and TRX are in green territory for the year – up 42% and 12%, respectively, since 1 January Will LEO and TRX continue to defy the market? Or will they follow the broader market on the way down?
LEO to USD
TRX points to buy
If technical signals are any indication, the metrics for LEO are sending a signal to sell, acording to TradingView, while TRX is showing buy.
A total of 11 of 15 moving averages on Tradingview are pointing to LEO as a strong sell. However, TRX’s signals paint a very different picture with 12 of 15 moving averages tagging the coin as a strong buy, according to TradingView.
LEO and TRX: 2022 highs
Both LEO and TRX hit their all-time highs in 2022.
LEO is a utility token for Bitfinex and affiliated platforms, giving users benefits such as discounts on trading. LEO saw a rally and reached its all-time high in February, after the US Department of Justice said it had seized $4.5m worth of bitcoin following the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Coin rallied in early May
TRX is a token for the Tron ecosystem. The coin rallied at the begining of May, after TRON launched its USDD or, as the company claims, “the first decentralized stablecoin.” The Tron decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) also bought 504,600,250 TRX to “safeguard the overall blockchain industry and crypto market,” the group said on Twitter.
LEO is the 23rd biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, while TRX ranks 18th.
Alex Benfield, an analyst with Weiss Ratings in Jupiter, Florida, told Capital.com that he expects LEO and TRX to “fall back in line with other altcoins.” It's unlikely altcoins will rise again en masse until bitcoin “finds a stable ground,” he added.
“I don't expect (TRX) to sustain a long rally at this point,” he said.
– With files from Monte Stewart
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