Bitcoin has been on a rollercoaster ride lately. It finally broke through the $100K mark in early December and peaked at $108K on December 17. But it’s been slightly downhill for the $BTC price since then, starting this week off at around $98K.
And now, a recent announcement by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has seen Bitcoin take a rough tumble, down to $93K.
The DOJ has been given the green light to sell 69,370 $BTC (around $6.5M) that had been seized from a darknet marketplace.
Reportedly, concerns regarding Bitcoin’s volatility have been cited by the DOJ 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 Road, a marketplace 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 he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence if elected.
Trump’s January 20 inauguration was widely expected to bolster the $BTC price in light of his pro-crypto stance, including the establishment of a strategic reserve for digital assets.
The DOJ announcement, however, has resulted in a sharp market impact on $BTC’s price.
Economist Peter Schiff has much to say about this recent move. He sees the DOJ’s decision as confirmation of his warnings that Trump would not be buying Bitcoin despite promising not to sell it.
With Bitcoin Under The Cosh, Is Altcoin Season A-go?
With volatility being the name of the Bitcoin game, it remains to be seen how it performs in the coming months, making altcoins all the more attractive. Here are our top picks for the 5 best cryptos to buy at the moment.
1. Wall Street Pepe ($WEPE) – A Record-setting Presale
This meme coin is in the presale phase, but Wall Street Pepe is seeing phenomenal investor interest. In one month of its presale launch, it has raised a massive $44.6M. $WEPE is easily one of the cryptos with the most potential growth.
Retail investors are leaping to join $WEPE’s frog army, where they will receive trading advice and insights from Wall Street Pepe himself.
Why is he doing that?
This no-nonsense Wolf of Wall Street in a Pepe the frog guise is on a mission to take down whales who manipulate the market while hiding in insider trading groups. So he’s training his frog army to trade like pros and become whales in their own right.
The $WEPE presale was originally meant to close at the end of February. But at the rate tokens are being snatched up, it could well be sooner.
2. Solaxy ($SOLX) – Layer 2 for Solana in the Making
Solaxy is causing a stir. It’s the world’s first Layer-2 ecosystem for Solana, and it’s promising big things. Also in presale, the Solaxy platform will build on Solana’s good points. But as many investors well know, Solana has serious issues with traffic congestion and failed transactions.
That is where Solaxy is set to be a game changer – eliminating those issues through unparalleled speed, scalability, and reliability. Solaxy has a 138B-strong total token supply, and 30% is being allocated to the development of the Layer-2 ecosystem.
With $9.4M already raised, all eyes are on Solaxy. And we’re looking forward to seeing those vast improvements it will bring to the party once up and running.
3. Pudgy Penguins ($PENGU) – An Old Faithful That’s Bucking Market Trends
After initially launching on the Ethereum blockchain in 2021, Pudgy Penguins launched on Solana in December last year.
It did that to extend the $PENGU community and reach new users. And so far, it’s been a recipe for success.
The Pudgy Penguins NFT collection (the name alone says it all) comprises 8,888 cartoon characters. And while the penguins themselves – representing love, happiness, empathy, compassion, and other emotions are all very cutesy, this altcoin means serious business.
$PENGU’s market cap currently stands at (ahem) $2,058B, ranking it at #67 on CoinGecko. And looking at its performance over the past month, the $PENGU price has remained relatively stable – 1 $PENGU costs $0.03282 – despite a market that has been anything but.
4. Best Wallet Token – Exciting Benefits for Holders
You most likely have heard of Best Wallet app. You may even already be using it. This mobile-first, 100% non-custodial app has a lot going for it. And now Best Wallet plans to introduce extra benefits, powered by its native Best Wallet token ($BEST).
Those benefits for $BEST holders include early access to new projects and presales, reduced transaction fees, higher staking rewards, and the power of community governance. And with close to $6.8M already raised in the presale, there are no signs of it slowing down.
You can read $BEST’s litepaper for more information on the ecosystem, token, and future plans.
5. Pepe Unchained ($PEPU) – A Strong Start for this Layer-2 Meme Ecosystem
Pepe Unchained, like Wall Street Pepe, is yet another member of the Pepe the Frog clan, and what a phenomenal presale he had.
By the time $PEPU hit the $30M mark, the community was hailing Pepe Unchained as the ‘best-selling presale token of all time.’
By the end of the sale, Pepe Unchained had raised an eye-watering $74M, and it went on to list 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 too kind to $PEPU. It’s seen a steady decline in line with the general market (thanks in part to the DOJ’s Bitcoin bombshell). But its prior performance was pretty good, and we expect it to rally in the not-too-distant future.
In Conclusion
For investors steering clear of Bitcoin following the DOJ’s upcoming sell-off of 69,370 $BTC, take heart. It’s not all doom and gloom.
Who knows – the Trumpster might help Bitcoin rally once he has settled into the Oval Office.
In the meantime, there are other choices out there, including the five best crypto to buy we covered in this article, which are well worth considering.
Don’t just take our word for it, though. After all, we are not financial advisers. Be sure to DYOR before making any investment decision.
