STX, the cryptocurrency that power’s the Stacks protocol, a layer-2 scaling solution built on top of Bitcoin that aims to bring smart-contract programmability to the Bitcoin ecosystem, is pulling back on Monday after seeing a big pump on Sunday. STX/USD was last changing hands around $0.5750, down around 8% on the day and lower by around 30% versus the nine-month highs it hit earlier in the session in the $0.84 area.
However, after Sunday’s huge 62% pump, the cryptocurrency is still trading higher by close to 180% on the year. Its latest surge has seen it leave all of its major averages, all of which are in the upper-$0.20s to lower-$0.30s area, in the dust. The recent pump marks a decisive breakout from the bear market that had dominated since late 2021.
Analysts put the recent pump down to the strengthening narrative of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) existing within a Bitcoin-centred cryptocurrency ecosystem. The launch of the Ordinal protocol last year, which allows users to mint NFTs directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain, has proven a massive success – according to a Yahoo Finance article, over 100,000 Ordinal NFTs have now been minted directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain.
The surge in popularity of Ordinals seems to be boosting the popularity of Bitcoin scaling solutions, like Stacks, which may offer users a cheaper and more efficient way of minting NFTs within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Stacks still benefits from the underlying security of the Bitcoin blockchain, after all, even if NFTs minted via various NFT marketplace protocols running on the Stacks protocol, like Gamma.io, aren’t minted directly onto the Bitcoin blockchain like Ordinals.
According to DappRadar, Gamma.io NFT trading volume has spiked in the last month, jumping 1000% (11x). Should the Stacks ecosystem continue to strengthen and should the price of Bitcoin continue to rise – BTC is currently threatening a breakout to new eight-month highs above $25,000 – then STX could continue to see impressive gains in the weeks and months ahead.
There aren’t any notable resistance levels now until around $1.0 per token. A break above here could open the door to a quick surge towards the key long-term $1.7-90 balance area.
For those who are interested in learning more about Stacks, check out this thread by the protocol’s co-creator, who goes by the Twitter handle of @muneeb.
Crypto Experts Give Their STX Price Predictions
According to analysis from popular crypto-focused YouTuber Jacob Crypto Bury, if STX can fund support at current levels and muster a new pump, he would be targeting a test of the $0.96 area. Bury added that $1.10 is a realistic target for the coin, which could mark a 90% surge from current levels.
Is It Too Late to Buy Stacks (STX)?
When investors start asking themselves whether or not it is “too late” to buy an asset, that suggests an element of “Fear Of Missing Out” (FOMO) is creeping into their mindset. This is a dangerous emotional state to be in. When an asset has been rallying hard, investors feeling FOMO might through caution to the wind and abandon their usual research and due diligence in favor of “aping” into an investment.
Investors should always try to keep their heads. They should stick to their usual analysis process to determine whether or not an investment presents a good risk-reward or not. Rather than asking whether it’s “too late” to buy an asset, they should instead be doing is thinking about an asset’s long-term price performance outlook. If they deem the asset’s outlook is good, then they should consider investing. Investors should remember that past performance is not indicative of future performance – if an asset has pumped, that doesn’t mean the pump will continue indefinitely.
STX Alternatives
If you’re looking for other high-potential crypto projects alongside STX, we’ve reviewed the top 15 cryptocurrencies for 2023, as analyzed by the CryptoNews Industry Talk team.
The list is updated weekly with new altcoins and ICO projects.
Disclaimer: The Industry Talk section features insights by crypto industry players and is not a part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com.
