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This Week’s Summary

• The cryptocurrency market looks to end the week at a total market capitalization of $1,048 trillion.
• Bitcoin moved up by over 9% after a highly successful week.
• Ethereum increased by almost 6% over the past seven days.
• XRP gained nearly 5% in value this week.
• Almost all altcoins have been trading in the green, with very few exceptions.
• The DeFi sector increased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around $49 billion.

Cryptocurrency Trends for the Week of Jan. 16-22, 2023: Market Analysis and Performance

The cryptocurrency market enjoyed another week in the green despite negative rumors and bankruptcy woes. Almost all assets have added to their previous gains, and the market capitalization has finally climbed back above the $1 trillion mark. All in all, this surprising uptrend has been fueling the industry’s optimism for brighter days ahead.

Bitcoin was close to the $21,000 level only a week ago. Many believed the king crypto was flying high on the back of the New Year’s cheer. However, that was never the case. The most popular cryptocurrency in the world continued to surge this week, adding over $2,000 to its value. Recently, BTC has been seen trading at almost $23,000.

Ethereum followed Bitcoin’s steps by adding to its gains. This week, the second crypto in command moved up by almost 6%. As a result, its value has recently been floating at around $1,650 and growing. If this trajectory were to continue, ETH supporters may be able to dream big for a rewarding 2023.

It hasn’t been all good news in the crypto market these days, however. After a month of uncertainty, one of the industry’s most popular lenders, Genesis, filed for bankruptcy. The company revealed liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion, with over 100,000 affected creditors. Nevertheless, this dire news has not impacted the market as severely as last month’s FTX debacle.

Altcoins & DeFi

Almost all altcoins have been trading happily in the green, with some recording spectacular gains. For example, Solana rose by 7% and Cardano by almost 9%. Elsewhere, BNB moved up by 1%, XRP by 5%, Dogecoin by 8%, and Shiba Inu by a whopping 21%.

Additionally, Litecoin increased by nearly 2%, Polygon by 3%, Polkadot by 7%, Uniswap by 6%, and Avalanche by 7%. Meanwhile, only a handful of cryptos have been in the red, including TRON, which moved down by 1% this week.

The Metaverse sector has been in the same boat the rest of the crypto market. For instance, Theta Network moved up by 14%, Axie Infinity by 31%, The Sandbox by 21%, and Decentraland by 10%. Meanwhile, ApeCoin rose by 9% and ICP by almost 13%.

The DeFi sector added almost $11 billion to the total value of locked protocols (TVL), now at nearly $49.18 billion.

What’s in the News?

• Some Ethereum developers disagree over technical tweaks as the Shanghai Upgrade nears.
• According to a Cumberland report, the Genesis bankruptcy filing contains misleading and incorrect information.
• The US authorities have shut down the Bitzlato Exchange and arrested its founder.

Next Week’s Crypto Market Forecast

The crypto market has been celebrating a very early and equally unexpected spring. After a long and arduous crypto winter, the ice covering many cryptos’ progress has finally been thawing. This week has been a clear example of it. For instance, most altcoins contracted after Bitzlato’s closure midweek but maintained an overall uptrend. We can only hope this anticipated defrosting can continue.

About the Author

Born and raised in Romania, and currently living in Spain, the author discovered a knack for writing from a tender age, and even won some minor awards for fiction that didn't pay much.

Iulian became a content writer in 2011, and he is still doing it to some degree of success today. He is currently specialized in cryptocurrencies, technology, online marketing, and social media. In his free time, Iulian likes reading, traveling, and watching sports. His dream is to see Bitcoin reach $100,000 just so he can tell his friends “I told you so!”

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