Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to defy gravity and its strong bullish breakouts frequently result in short sellers needing to cover their positions in a hurry. A repeat of this happened on Feb. 9 when Bitcoin soared on the news of Tesla’s $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase. Bybt data shows that about $1.34 billion worth of Bitcoin futures positions were liquidated due to the sharp rally.
Another notable event was the launch of CME Ether (ETH) futures on Feb. 8. Several traders feared that the launch would send Ether price tumbling, similar to the weakness seen in Bitcoin shortly after the launch of its futures in 2017. However, this has not happened and Ether remains strong.
Along with the major cryptocurrencies, several smaller tokens with strong use cases have also performed well. Let’s study three tokens that have been performing well in the current bullish environment.
HNT/USD
The number of daily use gadgets connected to the internet has surged over the years and as more are added Helium (HNT) wants to allow users and firms to build, connect and send data across a network of nodes.
The number of new Helium nodes saw a sharp jump from 3,271 active nodes at the end of April 2020 to 18,001 active hotspots in active use today. Another positive sign is the original Helium miner is sold out but the company recently formed a partnership with three new third-party manufacturers for its mining hardware.
The number of hotspots in use could receive a further boost as Helium plans to enter China in March and has tied up with HBTC to cater to the massive demand in Southeast Asia.
On the use case front, the network is attempting to solve car parking problems, autonomously control the operating systems of cooling towers, monitor agricultural commodities in real-time and support COVID-19 medical innovations. The growth of the network and its use cases project a positive picture for the protocol.
HNT has risen from an intraday low at $2.160 on Feb. 1 to an intraday high at $4.009 today, an 85% rally in a short time. The trend favors the bulls but the bears are not yet willing to accept defeat.
The long wick on the Feb. 6 to Feb. 8 candlesticks show the bears aggressively sold near the $4 resistance. However, the sellers could not capitalize on this strength and start a deeper correction.
This attracted dip-buying from the bulls and currently traders attempting to propel the price above $4 and resume the uptrend. If they succeed, the HNT/USD pair could rally to $5.15.
On the other hand, if the price again turns down from the current levels, the pair may consolidate in a tight range for a few days. The relative strength index (RSI) above 80 suggests the markets are overheated in the short-term and may be ripe to enter a correction or consolidation phase.
The first sign of weakness will be a breakdown and close below the 20-day exponential moving average ($2.712).
AVAX/USD
Traders use several strategies to make money in the markets and one among them, algorithmic trading, is quickly gaining popularity as it removes emotions from trading. Velox plans to bring algorithmic trading for decentralized exchanges to Avalanche (AVAX) in the first quarter of this year, which may attract a new breed of traders.
Along with the various trading products, risk management also plays a major role in a trader’s success. To meet this requirement, Avalanche is in the process of integrating with DSLA protocol and UNION to offer risk control services and insurance to the DeFi users.
True decentralization is achieved when most operations are free from centralized services. Many times, developers have to depend on centralized cloud services for their applications’ database and computing. To address this problem, Avalanche partnered with Aleph.im to provide decentralized cloud services to the teams building new products.
Stablecoins play an important part in the crypto universe and e-Money has announced plans to launch several European-currency stablecoins such as digital euro, Swiss Francs, Norwegian Krone, Swedish Krona, and Danish Krone to Avalanche.
OKCoin also became the first U.S. exchange to add support to AVAX and the trading went live from Feb. 3. OKCoin also plans to airdrop over $1 million worth of AVAX tokens in the next few days.
AVAX skyrocketed from $10.80 on Jan. 28 to an intraday high at $33.8167 on Feb. 8, a 213% rally in about two weeks. This sharp up-move pushed the RSI above 90, which suggests the markets were extremely overbought in the short term.
This resulted in profit-booking on Feb. 8, as seen from the long wick on the day’s candlestick. The selling has continued today and the bears will now try to pull the price down to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $25.0129.
If the price rebounds off this support, it will suggest that traders are eager to buy on a shallow pullback. The bulls will then try to resume the uptrend once again. If they can propel the price above $33.8167, the AVAX/USD pair may move up to $47.
On the other hand, if the bears sink the price below $25.0129, the correction could deepen to the 20-day EMA ($16.90). Such a move will suggest the momentum has weakened. The pair could then remain range-bound for a few days before starting the next trending move.
PICKLE/USD
Buybacks have been one of the favored mechanisms used by companies in legacy finance to boost the value of their stocks. The treasury of a company also acts as a source of funds that ensures the firm's liquidity and reduces operational and financial risk.
Pickle Finance (PICKLE) has achieved both these functions with the launch of their smart treasury, which not only acts as a buyback mechanism that consumes PICKLE that can be used for community initiatives.
Pickle launched two new jars, one with BAC/DAI and another with MIC/USDT in January, which offered astronomical yields. At a time when traditional banks pay negligible returns on deposits, it’s no surprise that Pickle’s high yields are a huge attraction.
The protocol announced that DILL, developed in collaboration with Yearn Finance, has passed multiple audits and is ready to be implemented. The investors who lock their PICKLE tokens for four years will receive DILL, the non-tradable token. The DILL owners will receive withdrawal, performance, and protocol fees in addition to rewards on their deposits.
PICKLE rose from an intraday low at $13.69 on Feb. 1 to an intraday high at $35.89, a 162% gain in a short time. The token witnessed large range moves between Feb. 6 and 8, which pushed the RSI above 84.
Usually, after a period of large daily ranges, the volatility drops, and the price trades in a tight range. The PICKLE/USD pair has formed an inside-day candlestick pattern today, which suggests indecision among the bulls and the bears about the next directional move.
If the indecision resolves to the upside and the bulls push the price above $35.89, the pair may continue its uptrend and reach $44 and then $50 where the bears are likely to mount a stiff resistance.
Contrary to this assumption, if the uncertainty resolves to the downside and the bears sink the price below $27.72, the pair may drop to the 20-day EMA ($20.51). If that happens, the pair may consolidate for a few days before making the next directional move.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.