The native token of smart contracts platform Avalanche, AVAX, has stormed up the crypto rankings this past week after notching a remarkable 85% price surge. The altcoin now sits as a top 10 cryptocurrency for the first time since May 2022 thanks to growing hype driving exponential transaction and trading volume growth.
Keypoints
- Avalanche’s AVAX token has surged 85% over the past week, now ranked in the top 10 cryptos
- Recent partnership announcements are contributing to increased investor attention on AVAX
- Trading volumes and daily transactions on Avalanche have seen exponential growth recently
- AVAX price broke out of recent ranges to hit new 2022 highs above $40
- Validator incentives allocating $275 million in AVAX rewards have helped drive price gains
AVAX price gained 15% over the last 24 hours alone, outperforming both Bitcoin and Ethereum’s declines during that span. It currently trades around the $41 level, translating to a market cap exceeding $15 billion.
Multiple factors are aligning to thrust AVAX back into the spotlight after months lingering farther down the crypto charts. Analysts point towards high-profile partnership announcements, staking rewards incentivizing validators, and technical breakouts signaling shifting momentum.
One major catalyst was Avalanche onboarding financial giants like JPMorgan and Citi to develop real-world asset tokenization through the platform. The involvement of institutional names often signals growing mainstream endorsement.
Investors also responded to exponential surges in user activity metrics on Avalanche. Daily transactions accelerated from around $200,000 to over $4.5 million in recent days as more addresses interact with AVAX and decentralized apps.
The heightened usage continues powering total value locked in Avalanche decentralized finance to new highs. TVL now sits at $894 million as of early December, notching an 82% rise since September. Trading volumes were up a staggering 2,436% in that same three-month stretch according to DefiLlama data.
AVAX price just managed to finally break out of ranges between $16 and $24 where it had been constrained for multiple weeks. The technical surge saw Avalanche reclaim levels not visited since the collapse of crypto prices earlier in 2022.
But unlike previous breakouts, this one may have more lasting power thanks to efforts making validators central to Avalanche’s value accrual. To date, over $275 million worth of AVAX has gone to stakers helping confirm transactions and uphold the network.
The decision sparked community excitement that further validator rewards could keep supply constraints in place allowing AVAX to again challenge its all-time high around $145. The token would need to rally 250% to eclipse that peak, but stating powering past top 10 cryptos is checking off an important milestone along the way.