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Market Consolidates but These Altcoins Move Against Trend
- Mina has seen a significant rally of over 80% in the past week, potentially spurred by rumours of collaborations with Arbitrum and Cardano.
- Near Protocol, has also seen a significant 80% growth in the past week, bolstered by its technological advancements, major partnerships, and an expanding user base.
- Optimism, a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, has recently hit an all-time high with a notable 63% increase in value and high development activity.
The post-Christmas rally hasn’t been all too great for crypto so far, with major assets, like BTC (-2.86%), ETH (-2.42%), SOL (-6.74%) and XRP (-3.48%) all consolidating for the time being. However, some altcoins have managed to buck the trend both in the past 24 hours, as well as on the 7-day timeline. Here are the week’s top performers.
Mina Takes it All
Mina (MINA), considers itself the “world’s lightest blockchain” and the first zk (zero-knowledge) blockchain. Unlike most other blockchains which tend to grow in size with more transactions and thus require more storage space, Mina maintains a consistently small size. This unique feature is primarily due to its use of a technology called “zk-SNARKs” (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge).
Mina has rallied by over 80% in the past week and 17% in the past 24 hours alone. The surge is likely due to some exciting developments that Mina might work with Arbitrum and Cardano in the new year – if true, very exciting news indeed.
The Ethereum Killer is Near
Near (NEAR) Protocol is a decentralised application platform designed to make apps usable on the web. It is a competitor to Ethereum and other decentralised application (dApp) platforms, offering several distinctive features. Near has gained almost 80% in the past week, continuing its stellar run since October 2023.
While many projects, like Solana and Cardano, have been dubbed the next ‘Ethereum killer’, the Near community is confident that the real threat to Ethereum is, fittingly, Near. In fact, the bullish case for the NEAR Protocol is built on its technological advancements, significant partnerships, growing user base, and its ability to attract and support major Web3 applications.
Proceed with Optimism
Optimism (OP) is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, designed to enhance the scalability and efficiency of the Ethereum network. Optimism is a significant step in Ethereum’s scaling solutions, offering a balance between speed, cost, and security, and is part of the broader movement towards more efficient blockchain ecosystems. OP has seen a 63% increase in the past week, following its lacklustre performance from May to October, after which it has significantly improved.
Interestingly, this is also an all-time high for OP, which saw its previous top in February 2023. The strong performance of OP is reflected in a recent ranking published by Santiment. The market intelligence platform ranked Optimism as the chain with the eight highest development activity in the past 30 days. The list featured prominent blockchains, such as Cardano, Polkadot, and Avax, to name just a few.
Author
Aaron Feuerstein
Aaron Feuerstein is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. His focus is on decentralised finance and the regulatory space surrounding blockchain. He holds a Master's in Accounting. When he is not studying the latest legal case, he enjoys his time as a modest but eager hobby cook.
