Cryptocurrency prices fell last week as global investors embraced a risk-off sentiment as American bond yields rose.
Bitcoin remained below $95,000, while meme coins like Dogwifhat (WIF), Popcat (POPCAT), and Bonk (BONK) were among the top laggards.
US bond yields continued rising after the labor statistics released strong nonfarm payroll numbers, which raised the possibility that the Federal Reserve will maintain a hawkish tone this year. The economy added over $260,000 jobs in December, while the jobless rate fell to 4.1%.
Arbitrum (ARB), Ondo Finance (ONDO), and Zetachain (ZETA) are the top cryptocurrencies to watch this week.
Arbitrum
Arbitrum, the second-biggest layer-2 network, will be a key cryptocurrency to watch this week as the network unlocks tokens worth $67 million or 1.08% of the float. It has already unlocked 53% of all its tokens, with the final release set to happen in April 2027.
Arbitrum’s token has been in a downtrend in the past 12 months and is now down by 70% from its highest level in 2024. This decline happened as the network lost market share to Base Blockchain.
Arbitrum token has recently slipped below the 50-day and 25-day Exponential Moving Averages and is hovering slightly above the key support at $0.70, which it has failed to move below since December. A break below that level will point to more downside, potentially to $0.4625, its lowest level in November.
Ondo Finance
Ondo Finance is another crypto to watch as the network unlocks tokens worth $2.38 billion or 133% of the float on Thursday. The network has a circulating supply of 1.38 billion and a maximum supply of 10 billion. Its token unlocks will run until 2029.
Ondo could benefit most from rising bond yields as investors move to money market funds. Its USDY and OUSG stablecoins yield 4.35% and 3.28%, respectively. However, it is unclear ONDO’s performance will benefit from its growth.
On the daily chart, the token has dropped from last December’s high of $2.13 to $1.23. It has also moved below the 50-day and 25-day moving averages and the key support at $1.4800, its highest swing in June last year.
On the positive side, ONDO has formed a falling wedge pattern, whose two lines are nearing their confluence levels. This pattern could point to more gains, potentially to $1.4800.
Zetachain
Zetachain, a cryptocurrency with a market cap of $337 million, will also be in the spotlight as it unlocks tokens worth $145 million or 49% of the market value.
The token has been in a strong downtrend after peaking at $1.3752 in June last year. This decline happened as the total value locked in its DeFi TVL dropped from $16 million in November to $7 million today.
The ZETA token has remained below all moving averages. It has also settled at the key support at $0.5328, its lowest swing since October last year. The coin has also remained below the 50-day moving average. Therefore, a break below that support will point to more downside, potentially to $0.3530, its lowest point in 2024.
