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Week Ahead: Bitcoin likely to bring Layer 2 tokens into spotlight this week

This week is going to be relatively flat in terms of macro announcements. There are a few noteworthy events for altcoins this week, but none that are likely to attract mass attention. However, this week, we could see BTC and its ecosystem coming to the forefront again, not because of the ETF announcement but due to Ordinals NFT.

Before we jump into this week’s narrative, let’s take a look at the weekly overview of key events to watch.

Monday, December 18, 2023

  • ICX Mainnet

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

  • WAXP Tokenomics Update
  • BNB Kepler Upgrade For BSC Testnet
  • KLAY Testnet HardFork

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

  • FXS Halving
  • MATIC RWA Announcement

Saturday, December 23, 2023

  • DOGE Astrobotic Dogecoin Moon Mission

Other tokens to focus on this week

  • ADA, INJ, DOT, EOS
  • Sectors: Layer 2 and Gaming tokens

The Inscription hype

The Ordinals NFT has clogged up the Bitcoin network, causing memepools and fees to spike. 

Memepools contain unconfirmed transactions, aka transactions that have not been written into the blockchain.

Bitcoin Memepool 

Bitcoin Memepool 

A brief and dumbed-down explanation of the hype surrounding the Inscriptions – instead of using smart contracts to mint NFTs, Bitcoin’s Ordinals inscribe them on-chain. 

Detailed explanation of Inscription hype

How does this matter to traders? 

Read more: RATS, SATS and ORDI, the BRC-20 tokens yielding massive gains this cycle

With Bitcoin memepool filling up, Layer 2 networks are going to be useful, albeit in the short term. Considering the current market outlook, which is extremely bullish and capital rotation is palpable, Layer 2 altcoins are going to see a renewed interest. 

For Bitcoin, there is only one popular Layer 2 project with a token – Stacks Protocol. This altcoin could see handsome returns next week. 

Read more: 

Bitcoin – Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: BTC cool-off prepares markets for crypto’s final two weeks of 2023

Ethereum – Ethereum price likely to outperform BTC says JP Morgan report, but short-outlook remains flat despite ETF hype

Ripple – XRP analyst says massive price rally to $1.50 likely post Spot Bitcoin ETF approval, BTC halving

Author

Akash Girimath

Akash Girimath is a Mechanical Engineer interested in the chaos of the financial markets. Trying to make sense of this convoluted yet fascinating space, he switched his engineering job to become a crypto reporter and analyst.

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