• January’s crypto market rally was broad-based, with Aptos‘ APT token leading the surge with a 387% increase.
• Gaming- and metaverse-affiliated tokens such as Gala Games‘ GALA token and Decentraland’s MANA token rose 233% and 149%, respectively.
• According to MarketVector Indexes product specialist Martin Leinweber, smaller altcoins tend to have higher beta to bitcoin, leading to higher gains when the market turns bullish.
The January surge in crypto markets was broad-based, with a number of tokens leading the rally. Layer 1 blockchain Aptos‘ native token APT was the biggest winner among 160 assets in the CoinDesk Market Index, with a 387% increase for the month. This was followed by gaming- and metaverse-affiliated tokens such as Gala Games‘ GALA token and Decentraland’s MANA token, which rose 233% and 149%, respectively.
The rally in crypto markets was welcomed by many, with MarketVector Indexes product specialist Martin Leinweber noting that smaller altcoins tend to have higher beta to bitcoin, leading to higher gains when the market turns bullish. “It’s not unusual to see the hardest-hit coins rallying the most when the market turns bullish,” he said.
The surge follows a difficult year in 2022, when the cryptocurrency market was largely in the doldrums. The January rally has been driven by a variety of factors. Institutions have been investing more in the space, with large investments from the likes of BlackRock, Tesla, and Square signalling that the industry is gaining more mainstream appeal.
Furthermore, the launch of Ethereum 2.0 and DeFi applications have attracted more users to the space, contributing to the overall market growth. For example, Ethereum’s ETH token has risen more than 40% in January, and is now trading at its highest level since 2018.
It remains to be seen if the rally in crypto markets can continue, but the signs so far are encouraging. With institutional investors piling into the space and the launch of new blockchain projects, the future looks bright for the cryptocurrency market.