bitcoin has been on a rollercoaster ride lately. It finally surpassed the $100,000 mark in early December and peaked at $108,000 on December 17. But it has since gone slightly downhill for the $btc price, starting this week at around $98,000.
And now, a recent announcement from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has seen bitcoin fall sharply, down to $93,000.
The Justice Department was given the green light to sell $69,370 btc (about $6.5 million) that had been seized from a darknet marketplace.
The Justice Department has reportedly cited concerns about bitcoin volatility as the main reason for pushing for a quick sale, which was approved by a federal judge on December 30.
The bitcoin was seized from Silk Roada market for illegal goods and services, including drug trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering. Its founder, Ross William Ulbricht, was arrested in 2013 and is currently serving a life sentence.
By the way, President-elect Donald Trump – as one of his election campaign promises – said that commute Ulbricht's sentence if elected.
Trump's inauguration on January 20 was widely expected to boost the price of the btc dollar in light of his pro-cryptocurrency stance, including establishing a strategic reserve for digital assets.
However, the Department of Justice announcement has had a strong market impact on the price of $btc.
The economist Peter Schiff has <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/PeterSchiff/status/1877215472111804655″ target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>a lot to say about this recent movement. He sees the Justice Department's decision as a confirmation of his warnings that Trump would not buy bitcoin despite promising not to sell it.
With bitcoin under control, has altcoin season begun?
Since volatility is the name of bitcoin's game, it remains to be seen how it will perform in the coming months, making altcoins even more attractive. Here are our top picks for the 5 best cryptocurrencies to buy right now.
1. Wall Street Pepe ($WEPE): a record pre-sale
This meme coin is in pre-sale phase, but Pepe Wall Street is seeing phenomenal investor interest. In a month since its pre-sale release, it has raised a whopping $44.6 million. $WEPE is easily one of the cryptocurrencies with the greatest growth potential.
Retail investors are rushing to join the $WEPE frog army, where they will receive trading tips and insights from Wall Street Pepe himself.
Why is he doing that?
This no-nonsense Wall Street wolf disguised as Pepe the Frog is on a mission to take down whales manipulating the market while hiding in insider trading rings. So he's training his army of frogs to trade like professionals and become whales in their own right.
Originally, the $WEPE pre-sale was supposed to close at the end of February. But at the rate at which tokens are being acquired, it could well be sooner.
2. Solaxy ($SOLX): Layer 2 for Solana in progress
solaxy is causing a stir. It's the world's first Layer 2 ecosystem for Solana and it promises great things. Also in pre-sale, the solaxy The platform will build on the positive points of Solana. But as many investors know, Solana has serious problems with traffic congestion and failed transactions.
That's where Solaxy will change the game: it will eliminate those problems by Unmatched speed, scalability and reliability. Solax has a Total token supply of 138 billion and 30% is being allocated to the development of the Layer-2 ecosystem.
With $9.4 million already raised, all eyes are on Solaxy. And we can't wait to see those big improvements it will bring to the party once it's up and running.
3. Chubby Penguins ($PENGU): An old faithful that is bucking market trends
After initially launching on the ethereum blockchain in 2021, Pudgy Penguins launched on Solana in December last year.
He did this to expand the $PENGU community and reach new users. And until now, it's been a recipe for success.
The Pudgy Penguins nft collection (the name alone says it all) consists of 8,888 cartoon characters. And although the penguins themselves, which represent love, happiness, empathy, compassion and other emotions, are very cutesy, this altcoin means serious business.
The market capitalization of $PENGU currently stands at (ahem) $2.058 billion, placing it at #67 on CoinGecko. And if we look at its performance over the last month, the price of $PENGU has remained relatively stable (1 $PENGU costs $0.03282) despite a market that has not been quite the opposite.
4. Best Wallet Token – Interesting Benefits for Holders
Chances are you've heard of The best wallet app. You may even already be using it. This 100% non-custodial mobile app has a lot to offer. And now Best Wallet plans to introduce additional benefits, powered by its native Best wallet token ($BEST).
Those benefits for $BEST holders include early access to new projects and pre-sales, reduced transaction fees, increased staking rewards, and the power of community governance. And with nearly $6.8 million already raised in pre-sales, there's no sign of it slowing down.
you can read $BEST lite paper to learn more about the ecosystem, token, and future plans.
5. Pepe Unchained ($PEPU): A good start for this layer 2 meme ecosystem
Pepe Unchained, like Pepe from Wall Street, is another member of the Pepe the Frog clan, and what a phenomenal pre-sale he had.
When $PEPU reached the $30 million mark, the community hailed Pepe Unchained as the 'The best-selling pre-sale token of all time.'
By the end of the sale, Pepe Unchained had raised a whopping $74 million and became listed on DEXs and CEXs in December.
Pepe Unchained is a layer 2 blockchain for meme coins that is now fully operational and the launch of its Pump Pad is imminent.
To be fair, the past week has not been very kind to $PEPU. It has seen a steady decline in line with the overall market (thanks in part to the Department of Justice's bitcoin bomb). But its previous performance was quite good and we expect it to bounce back in the not-too-distant future.
In conclusion
For investors staying away from bitcoin following the upcoming $69,370 btc sell-off by the Department of Justice, don't be discouraged. It's not all pessimism.
Who knows, Trumpster could help bitcoin recover once he is installed in the Oval Office.
In the meantime, there are other options, including the five best cryptocurrencies to buy that we covered in this article, that are worth considering.
However, don't just take our word for it. After all, we are not financial advisors. Be sure to DYOR before making any investment decisions.
