Top Cryptocurrencies to Watch This Week: Pi Network, Cetus, Optimism

While the crypto market in general is struggling to regain growth momentum, a few digital assets stand out amidst the chaotic situation. Bitcoin ( BTC ), surged to a record high of nearly $112,000 last week, has dropped to $107,000, while the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinGecko has fallen to $3.49 trillion. Pi Network ( PI ), Cetus Protocol ( CET ) and Optimism ( OP ) have emerged as the most notable tokens, demonstrating relatively strong resilience despite the increasing risks associated with trading affecting investor sentiment. While most major cryptocurrencies are facing obstacles from weakening momentum and macroeconomic instability, these three projects are catching our attention. You may also like: Trump hosts a memecoin dinner — ethics condemned; Polygon CEO resigns; WLFI and Binance | Weekly summary Pi Network The price of Pi Network will be the center of attention this week as over 70 million tokens worth 53 million dollars are about to be unlocked. Most of the unlocks will take place on May 28, when 15.2 million coins will be brought onto the network. Pi Network, founded in 2019 by Nicolas Kokkalis and Chengdiao Fan, unlocks new tokens daily. Approximately 261 million coins will be released in June and 1.57 billion coins in the next 12 months. Unlocking reduces the price by increasing the circulating supply, especially when there is no demand. The price of Pi coin has been under pressure in recent weeks, dropping from a monthly high of $1.6692 to $0.7766. This collapse accelerated after the developers launched Pi Network Ventures, a company that will invest $100 million in startups using Pi coin. While the ecosystem fund is a positive move, the coin has decreased because the announcement did not include plans to list on more tier 1 exchanges. The developers have not addressed issues of centralization and increased supply through token unlocking. The Pi Network has formed a bearish flag pattern on the eight-hour chart, indicating the possibility of further price declines, potentially down to this month’s low of $0.5545.

Cetus Protocol Cetus, the largest decentralized exchange on Sui ( SUI ), made headlines last week when hackers withdrew millions of dollars worth of tokens. The protocol had frozen 162 million dollars before the hackers moved them completely. In a statement, Cetus hopes for a successful community vote to unlock the $162 million in frozen funds. Sui stated that they are designing the on-chain vote, which is likely to take place this week.

Cetus is also aiming to reach a whitehat agreement with the hacker. The company has also offered a reward of 5 million dollars to help identify the hacker and take legal action. CET, the native token of this currency, has plummeted, dropping from a high of 0.2568 dollars on May 22 to 0.1300 dollars, the lowest level since April 23.

Optimism Optimism, a leading layer 2 network, will be the center of attention this week as it unlocks $23.4 million in tokens, accounting for 1.88% of the circulating supply. These unlocks are part of regular monthly releases. The OP token has decreased from a high of $2.7715 in November last year to $0.7320 today. It remains below the 50-day and 100-day moving averages. It has also formed an ascending expanding wedge, a common bearish reversal pattern.

Maverick Protocol, dYdX, Celo, and Velas Finance are some other cryptocurrencies that have a large token unlock this week.