While the cryptocurrency market in general struggles to regain growth momentum, a few standout digital assets emerge amid the chaos.
Bitcoin ( BTC ), surged to a record high of nearly $112,000 last week, has dropped to $107,000, while the market capitalization of all currencies tracked by CoinGecko has fallen to $3.49 trillion.
Pi Network ( PI ), Cetus Protocol (CET), and Optimism ( OP ) have emerged as the most notable tokens, showing relative resilience despite the increasing trading risks impacting investor sentiment.
While most major cryptocurrencies face headwinds from weakening momentum and macroeconomic uncertainty, these three projects are drawing our attention.
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Pi Network
The price of Pi Network will be in the spotlight this week as over 70 million tokens worth $53 million are set to be unlocked. Most unlocks will occur on May 28, when 15.2 million coins will go live.
Pi Network, founded in 2019 by Nicolas Kokkalis and Chengdiao Fan, unlocks new tokens daily. About 261 million coins will be released in June and 1.57 billion coins over the next 12 months. Unlocking reduces price by increasing circulating supply, especially when there is no demand.
The price of Pi coin has been under pressure in recent weeks, falling from this month's peak of $1.6692 to $0.7766. This collapse accelerated after developers launched Pi Network Ventures, a company that will invest $100 million in startups using Pi coin.
While the ecosystem fund is a positive move, the currency has declined because the announcement did not include plans to list on more tier 1 exchanges. The developers did not address issues of centralization and increased supply through token unlocks.
Pi Network has formed a bearish flag pattern on the eight-hour chart, indicating the potential for the price to drop further, possibly to this month's low of $0.5545.
Cetus Protocol
Cetus, the largest decentralized exchange on Sui ( SUI ), made headlines last week when hackers drained millions of dollars' worth of tokens. The protocol had frozen $162 million in assets before the hackers moved them completely.
In a statement, Cetus hopes for a successful community vote to unlock the $162 million that has been frozen. Sui stated that they are designing the on-chain vote, which is likely to take place this week.
Cetus is also aiming to reach a whitehat deal with hackers. The company has also offered a $5 million bounty to help identify the hackers and take legal action.
CET, the native token of this currency, has plummeted, falling from a high of $0.2568 on May 22 to $0.1300, the lowest level since April 23.
Optimism
Optimism, a leading layer 2 network, will be in the spotlight this week as it unlocks $23.4 million in coins, accounting for 1.88% of the circulating supply. These unlocks are part of regular monthly releases.
The OP token has dropped from a high of $2.7715 in November last year to $0.7320 today. It remains below the 50-day and 100-day moving averages. It has also formed an expanding wedge, a common bearish reversal pattern.
Maverick Protocol, dYdX, Celo, and Velas Finance are some other cryptocurrencies with significant token unlocks this week.