Top cryptocurrencies to watch this week: MOVR, SOL, OP

The cryptocurrency industry added $100 billion to the global market capitalization this week, with notable contributions from top performers Moonriver (MOVR), Solana (SOL) and Optimism (OP).

Moonriver spikes 170% in a day

Moonriver traded at the mercy of the bears at the early stages of the week, but decoupled and made its fortunes as the week progressed.

The token started the week at a value of $6.6141, and continued to consolidate between $6.1253 and $6.8328.

Its breakthrough emerged on Dec. 21 amid surging social mentions and increased investor demand. Moonriver rallied 68% from $6.7233 on Dec. 21 to $11.35 the next day. But the token faced resistance at this price point, witnessing an 11.06% drop within three hours.

MOVR continued to collapse. Bears set out to trigger a full retracement of the Dec. 21 upsurge. This drop was likely triggered by selling pressure, as investors sought to dump their holdings at the 14-month-high above $11. Before this week, the last time MOVR saw $11-plus was in October 2022.

A correction did not erase all the recently accumulated gains. Moonriver held strong above the $9 psychological threshold.

The asset eventually spiked 146% on Dec. 23, breaking above multiple resistance points, and closing the day at $23.978.

Some market watchers attributed the uptrend to a similar rally engineered by Kusama (KSM), the native token of the Kusama blockchain on which Moonriver resides. The uptrend spilled into today, with MOVR rallying to a 19-month high of $44 today before witnessing resistance. Moonriver is up 170% today and 378% this week.

Solana breaches $100, flips XRP and BNB

Solana has been on a rampage for the past few months.

While some critics have projected a looming correction of the recent gains, SOL extended the ongoing run to this week. The token began the week with a 5% intraday gain on Dec. 18, closing the day above the $70 mark.

The bears took charge the next day, but Solana defended the support at $71.78, recording its only intraday loss of 1.91%. SOL has continued to surge since then, currently up 54% from the $71.78 low. 

Amid the uptrend, Solana eventually breached the pivotal $100 psychological threshold for the first time since April 2022. The crypto asset soared to a high of $118 today, but a roadblock mounted by the bears resulted in a sharp drop. 

SOL currently trades for $110.07, up 14% today and 55% this week. Solana eclipsed XRP’s market capitalization earlier this week when it soared above $80, becoming the fifth-largest token. The asset further flipped BNB, securing the fourth spot, with a market cap above $47 billion.

Optimism hits new ATH

While other assets looked to recover their pre-Terra highs, Optimism aimed for the stars this week. Like Moonriver, the crypto token started the week with a slow performance, consolidating between $1.957 and $2.278 from Dec. 18 to 20.

OP’s good fortunes began on Dec. 21, a day after the broader market engineered a resurgence. Optimism’s price erupted on Dec. 21, leading to a 12.19% intraday increase. The asset successfully broke above the $2.5 resistance level on that day, setting the stage for a more substantial upsurge.

This upsurge materialized on Dec. 22, with Optimism recording a 37% gain. This represented one of its largest intraday gains this year. The rally paused the next day, with OP meeting resistance at $3.535 and registering a mild 0.43 loss. 

However, Optimism witnessed increased buying pressure, rallying to a new all-time high of $3.842 today before collapsing. Despite the collapse, OP has held above the $3.5 price support. The token is up 65% today.