Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Pepe, Solana, and more: Cryptocurrencies to watch this week
The cryptocurrency market is poised to enter the new quarter with renewed optimism, fueled by recent interest rate cuts and the anticipation surrounding the upcoming November election. Regardless of the outcome, both major political sides have hinted at policies that could be favorable to the crypto industry, further boosting investor confidence.
With this optimistic outlook, let’s take a closer look at the cryptocurrencies currently making waves in the cryptosphere.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
The biggest memecoin by market cap, Dogecoin, is experiencing a significant surge, driven by a combination of factors. Key among these is the recent interest rate cuts announced in September, which have injected fresh optimism into the broader cryptocurrency market. Currently, the cryptocurrency is trading at $0.12, marking a substantial 13% increase over the past seven days. One expert has predicted an explosive rally for Dogecoin.
Shiba Inu (SHIB)
Shiba Inu, Dogecoin’s main rival and another popular memecoin, has seen a significant surge in recent days. The primary driver behind this rally is the burn rate, which spiked by an impressive 640%, with approximately 1 million SHIB tokens burned in a single transaction, according to data from Shibburn. In total, the Shiba Inu ecosystem has removed 5.56 million SHIB tokens from circulation over the past 24 hours.
For those unfamiliar, coin burning is the process of permanently removing cryptocurrency tokens from circulation by sending them to an inaccessible wallet address. The goal is to reduce the supply of tokens, which, in turn, can increase the value of the remaining coins.
Currently, Shiba Inu is trading at $0.00001837, reflecting a 27% increase over the past week.
Pepe (PEPE)
The rapid growth of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu has also propelled other memecoins, such as Pepe—a frog-themed cryptocurrency that now ranks among the top 30 by market capitalization. Riding the wave of bullish market sentiment, Pepe has surged over 36% in the past week and is currently trading at $0.00001096.
Solana (SOL)
Solana, a major competitor to Ethereum and home to hundreds of decentralized apps, has seen recent growth, driven by a bullish report from VanEck. The report predicts that Solana could reach $330, potentially capturing 50% of Ethereum’s current market capitalization. VanEck highlights Solana’s superior transaction speed—processing over 50,000 transactions per second (TPS) compared to Ethereum’s 15-45 TPS—as a key factor behind its strong outlook. This speed advantage makes Solana especially attractive for high-volume transactions, such as payments and remittances.
Currently, Solana is trading at $155, reflecting an 8% increase over the past week.
XRP (XRP)
XRP has been surging in response to a new project from Ripple, the blockchain technology company behind the cryptocurrency. Ripple is preparing to launch a stablecoin called RLUSD, which will be pegged 1:1 with the US dollar. The stablecoin will be fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US government treasuries, and other cash equivalents. Ripple’s president, Monica Long, recently suggested that the official launch of RLUSD could happen before the end of 2024.
Currently, XRP is trading at $0.47, showing an 8% increase over the past week.