In contrast to the first week of December, when cryptocurrency prices saw impressive growth, the past week brought a significant decline across the market. This decline has resulted in no notable breakouts for two of the top three trending altcoins over the past 24 hours.
The decline can be attributed to a combination of negative market sentiment and a significant decline in liquidity. According to CoinGecko, the top three trending altcoins for today, December 23, are Hyperliquid (HYPE), Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL).
Hyperliquid (HYPE)
On many occasions, HYPE, the native token of decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, has appeared on trending altcoin lists due to price increases. However, that is not the case today, as HYPE’s price has decreased by 14.70% in the last 24 hours.
The decline in altcoin value is not just due to increased sell-offs. Instead, reports have emerged that North Korean hackers may have infiltrated the Hyperliquid ecosystem. Following this development, on-chain data shows that investors withdrew about 60 million USD from this platform.
This value accounts for about 3% of the total property value there. From a technical perspective, Bull Bear Power (BBP) has dropped into negative territory. BBP compares the strength of buyers (bulls) with sellers (bears).
When the index is positive, it means bulls are dominant and prices are likely to rise. But in this case, it’s the opposite. If this trend does not change, HYPE’s price could fall to $22.39.
However, if buying pressure increases around altcoins, that may not happen. Instead, the value could spike to $35.76.
Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)
As mentioned earlier, PENGU’s price also failed to register an increase despite being one of the trending altcoins today. However, unlike the Hyperliquid Token, the Pudgy Penguins price has remained around 0.027 USD since yesterday.
According to the 1-hour chart, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering around the 50.00 neutral zone. This shows that the sentiment around altcoins is not tilted towards either a bearish or bullish direction.
As a result, the altcoin’s value will likely continue to fluctuate between $0.025 and $0.030. However, if the bulls are in power, this may not happen. Instead, the Token could rise to $0.050.
At the same time, an increase in selling pressure could derail this trend. In that case, PENGU’s price could drop below $0.020.
Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL)
VIRTUAL is the only altcoin among the three that is showing a bullish trend. Over the past 24 hours, VIRTUAL’s price has increased by 6.90%.
On the 4-hour chart, the altcoin staged a recovery after the bulls successfully defended the support at $2.25. For this reason, the cryptocurrency value increased to 2.67 USD. However, VIRTUAL may encounter resistance at $2.83.
If successfully surpassed, VIRTUAL could rise to $3.32. However, if the altcoin cannot overcome that resistance, this may not happen. Conversely, the value could drop to $2.03.