Cronos (CRO) has been on a tear recently, skyrocketing by 148% over the past week. Currently, the altcoin trades at $0.17, a level last seen in May 2022.

With demand for Cronos rising, its rally appears positioned to break above the $0.20 mark for the first time in two years. This analysis examines the factors that could drive the price higher in the near term.

Cronos Sees Spike in Trading Activity

Over the past 24 hours, CRO’s value has surged by 21%. During the same period, its trading volume totaled $1.24 billion, spiking by over 300%. 

When a high trading volume backs an asset’s price rally, it signals strong momentum behind its current trend. This indicates sustained interest and confidence among traders. It suggests the asset is attracting new buyers and seeing increased demand from existing investors. This demand can lead to a self-reinforcing rally as more investors jump in, expecting prices to continue climbing. 

Notably, its rising open interest confirms the surge in CRO trading activity. At press time, this sits at $24.36 million, its highest since August 2023. 

Open interest tracks the total number of active or unsettled contracts in the market, such as futures or options. When it rises, the total number of active or outstanding contracts increases.

This uptick usually reflects new participants entering the market or existing traders expanding their positions, bringing additional liquidity. When open interest and an asset’s price rise simultaneously, this indicates a bullish sentiment and raises the potential for a sustained rally.

CRO Price Prediction: $0.20 May Come Soon

At its current price, CRO trades above the $0.14 resistance level, which it recently broke above. Sustained buying pressure will flip this price level into a support floor upon retest, propelling the Cronos price rally toward the $0.22 mark.

However, if selling activity gains momentum, the $0.14 price level will not hold as support, causing CRO’s price to plummet toward $0.04.

Blockchain researcher Justin Drake unveiled the Ethereum Beam Chain concept during Devcon in Bangkok. This proposed overhaul aims to consolidate several key advancements in the network.

The proposed Beam Chain will consolidate native support for zero-knowledge proofs and rapid finality into a single upgrade for the Ethereum network.

Ethereum Beam Chain to Address Legacy Issues of the Network

Drake described the Beam Chain as a step closer to Ethereum’s envisioned final form. He emphasized that the current Beacon Chain, introduced five years ago, is outdated. 

Significant technological progress has been made since its implementation, particularly in areas like maximal extractable value (MEV) mitigation and advancements in zero-knowledge technologies.

“The current beacon chain is kind of old. The specs were frozen five years ago, and in these five years, so much has happened. Particularly, we have a much better understanding of MEV (Maximal Extractable Value),” said Ethereum researcher Justin Drake in Devcon 2024. 

Drake highlighted that zk-SNARKs have become more efficient, and zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (zkEVMs) are now operational, offering enhanced scalability and privacy for blockchain applications.

This proposal marks the first major technological vision since the network’s transition to proof-of-stake over two years ago. The Merge, which replaced Ethereum’s energy-intensive proof-of-work model, was the last event to garner widespread enthusiasm. 

While the network has seen incremental updates since then, including improvements for layer-2 blockchains, the Ethereum Beam Chain could unify future upgrades under a more comprehensive framework.

Unlike previous updates, the Ethereum Beam Chain proposal suggests bundling significant changes into one coordinated upgrade every few years while continuing with annual incremental improvements to address smaller technical needs.

The Ethereum Networks is Going Through Significant Changes

The Ethereum Beam Chain proposal comes on the back of several upgrade initiatives for the network. The foundation recently introduced the Mekong testnet, designed to trial features of the upcoming Pectra fork scheduled for 2025. 

This testnet provides a controlled environment for rigorous testing before deploying updates to the mainnet. Meanwhile, ENS Labs, responsible for Ethereum Name Service (ENS), unveiled a layer-2 scaling solution to improve the performance of blockchain-based identity systems.

ETH has also surged in value in the current bull market, gaining 29% over the past week to hit a three-month high of $3,184. Investor confidence appears strong, with increased holding times and reduced selling pressure.

At the same time, whale activity on the network has reached a 14-week peak. Transactions exceeding $1 million have surged to 8,482, reflecting heightened interest from large-scale investors.

As the cryptocurrency market capitalization surpassed $3 trillion, many standout altcoins have captured investors’ attention.  As a result, some of these are the hot trending altcoins today, according to CoinGecko.

Driven by recent developments, price movements, and surges in trading volume, this article examines why these coins are taking center stage and what’s fueling the excitement behind each one.

Notcoin (NOT)

Today, Notcoin (NOT), the cryptocurrency tied to the Telegram messaging app, is first on the list of the hot trending altcoins. NOT is trending today because of its notable price increase. Over the last few months, the altcoin’s value experienced a massive decline and showed signs of hitting a new all-time low.

However, the price has now increased by 30% within the last seven days while trading at $0.076. This significant resurgence has brought NOT back into the spotlight, with the token now having many mentions on several social media platforms. 

From a technical standpoint, NOT’s price experienced this rally due to a breakout from the falling wedge on the daily chart. The increase also materialized because of the surge in the buying pressure on the spot market. For context, a falling wedge is a bullish chart pattern that appears when the price consolidates between two downward-sloping, converging trendlines.

As seen below, Notcoin’s breakout occurred after a bullish engulfing candle appeared out of the wedge. While the altcoin seems to be facing resistance at $0.0082, the support at $0.0076 looks likely to prevent another drawdown. 

If that happens, Notcoin’s price could climb toward $0.010. In a highly bullish situation, it might rise to $0.013. However, if bulls fail to defend the price, it could decrease to $0.0056.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin’s position among the top trending altcoins may come as no surprise to dedicated market followers. Over the past 24 hours, DOGE’s price surged by 41% to $0.40, pushing its market cap above $60 billion.

Further, this recent rally marks Dogecoin’s highest price since May 2021. Earlier in the month, Dogecoin’s price was $0.15. However, with a 169% hike in the last seven days, the Bull Bear Power (BBP) shows that the cryptocurrency could go higher.

This is because the BBP, which measures the strength of bulls against bears, shows that the former are in control. If this remains the case, DOGE’s price could rally beyond $0.45. 

On the flip side, if the altcoin gets overbought and profit-taking rises, it might pull back. In that scenario, DOGE could slide to $0.35.

Happy Cat (HAPPY)

Last on the list today is Happy Cat (HAPPY), a meme coin built on Solana. Like other altcoins, HAPPY is trending because of its performance, which has seen its price rise by 147% in the last 24 hours.

This price increase could be linked to the trending narrative around Cat-themed meme coins. However, the 1-hour chart shows that HAPPY’s price has decreased to $0.027. This decline is largely due to selling pressure from holders who have gained from the altcoin’s performance.

Should this continue, then HAPPY’s price could drop to $0.018. On the other hand, if buying pressure rises, this could change, and the altcoin could rally as high as $0.043.