Earlier this year, the entire cryptocurrency market plummeted. Industry insiders have been speculating on when we’ll see the market return to form. As we close out the month of May, most major cryptocurrencies are trending upward. Is this a sign that the market has started to heal? Let’s discuss.
1. Bitcoin
The global cryptocurrency market has been experiencing its longest-running slump ever recorded for the past nine weeks, but not its lowest. Now, as we close out the month of May 2022, better days may be just over the horizon. Bitcoin is now up 4.61%, to US$30,261.83.
2. Ethereum
Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency that seems to be getting back on track after the market slump. At the end of May, the price of Ethereum increased by almost 6%, hitting $1873. This bump in Ethereum’s value comes just after a decrease of 7.42% in the past week. Still, Ethereum seems to be holding on tightly to its position as the cryptocurrency with the second highest market cap in the industry.
3. Tether
At a relatively low cost of just $0.99 per coin, Tether is considered one of the most stable cryptocurrencies currently on the market. Perhaps this reliability that has earned Tether a market cap of nearly $72.5 billion US Dollars, despite its low price. In the past week, the value of Tether has risen by 0.04% on the market, this steady pace is now expected to continue on for the foreseeable future.
4. USD Coin
The aptly named USD Coin functions as a direct representation of the US Dollar on the blockchain. The presence of USD Coin on the cryptocurrency market has proved to be a valuable experiment for the future of digital currency. At the time of writing, USD Coin has risen by 0.03% in the past week. The cryptocurrency now holds a market cap of around $54 billion, making it the 4 largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
5. Binance Coin (BNB)
The native token of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance, is up 5.38% as of May 30th, 2022, with a price of $318.90. Binance bulls are now confident that the cryptocurrency could hit a cost of $420. On the other hand, Bears warn that a potential lawsuit could squash the cryptocurrency’s market potential.
6. Cardano
Cardano experienced a drop of 4.78% in the last week of May before a price increase of 11.41% by the end of the month. At the time of writing this, the price of Cardano sits at $0.519. Recently, Cardano launched Milkomeda, allowing Ethereum holders to convert their assets to Cardano. As a result, supporters of Cardano are hopeful that Milkomeda will help drive the price of Cardano going forward.
7. XRP
After dropping by 4.52% in the prior week, XRP increased by 4.9% on May 30th. With a market cap exceeding $19 billion, XRP is the 6th largest cryptocurrency. Currently, XRP’s platform, Ripple, is facing a lawsuit. However, supporters of XRP are predicting that once Ripple wins its case, we should see a rise in the value of XRP.
As we speak, market whales have gone on a buying spree, hoping that the token’s value will bring substantial profits shortly.
8. Binance USD
Compared to its sister token BNB, Binance USD is the stablecoin variant native to the Binance blockchain. The Binance USD stablecoin is currently priced at $0.99, with a market cap of $18 million. At the time of writing, Binace USD has been up by 3% in past 24 hours. The 1:1 USD-backed stable coin issued by Binance (in partnership with Paxos) is the third largest stablecoin by market cap, behind Tether and USDC.
9. Solana
Solana has the 9th highest market cap of any cryptocurrency currently available. After a 10.54% drop in value, the price of Solana rose back up by 9.17% at the end of May 2022. However, skeptics are already looking at other, newer tokens that they believe could overthrow Solana. Names such as Bitgert and Gnox token have been thrown around.
10. Dogecoin
After starting as an internet joke, Dogecoin has made quite a name for itself on the market. By the end of May 2022, Dogecoin rose by 5.41%. Dogecoin is currently ranked 10th on the market, with a price of $0.08487. That said, critics of Dogecoin have claimed the cryptocurrency is unreliable, seeing that its price depends largely on what Elon Musk has to say.
Concluding Analysis
We’re starting to see the global cryptocurrency market gradually recover from a rather intense slump. However, even though things are looking up for the market, it’s still an unpredictable time for cryptocurrency and the broader blockchain industry.
As of yet, many questions remain unanswered. Most people seem to believe cryptocurrency is no longer a viable long-term investment. Will the market be able to shed this reputation sooner rather than later? What role will stablecoins play in market stabilization, exactly? And where do markets such as De-Fi and NFTs go from here? The future is still unwritten, but the next five years will undoubtedly be interesting for cryptocurrency.
