Cryptocurrency Market Update

Cryptocurrency prices rose modestly during the weekend as investors embraced a risk-on sentiment following Friday’s surge in the US stock market.

Bitcoin (BTC) held steady above $84,000, while the market cap of all coins rose to over $2.8 trillion.

The crypto market will have two main catalysts this week: President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions. A sign of Trump easing his stand on tariffs and a more dovish Fed will be bullish for cryptocurrencies and other risky assets.

The top cryptocurrencies to watch this week will be Binance Coin (BNB), Cronos (CRO), and ZetaChain (ZETA).

BNB

BNB price will be in the spotlight this week as the developers activate the Pascal hard fork on March 20. This is one of the three upgrades scheduled for the year’s first half. It is set to introduce newer features, including more Ethereum compatibility, native smart contract wallets, and improved security.

The other two upgrades will enhance BNB Chain’s speed and security. This is happening as the BSC Chain becomes a significant alternative to Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL). Ethereum has higher fees and slower transaction speeds, while the Solana network is often linked with meme coins.

You might also like: What BNB Chain’s Pascal hard fork wants to achieve and when

Cronos

A key Cronos vote will conclude on March 17. This crucial vote seeks to determine the creation of the Cronos Strategic Reserve by undoing a 70 billion token burn that occurred in 2021.

If the vote passes, Cronos will create 70 billion tokens to establish a reserve aimed at supporting the ecosystem. Critics argue that creating these new tokens will dilute existing investors by increasing supply.

Voting data shows that 45.8% of users support the proposal, while 44.4% oppose it. 9.27% have abstained. If voting concludes as is, the proposal will be rejected due to insufficient turnout.

ZetaChain

ZetaChain is another cryptocurrency to keep an eye on after its price plunged to a record low of $0.2070, down over 92% from its all-time high, bringing its market cap to $151 million.

The ZETA price crash is attributed to a significant decrease in the total value locked in its ecosystem, falling to $13 million from nearly $20 million at its peak.

Additionally, ZetaChain is highly dilutive, with a circulating supply of 731 million against a total supply of 2.1 billion.

The network plans to unlock tokens valued at over $6.6 million, representing 4.29% of the float this week. Cryptocurrencies can be very volatile during major unlocks.

Read more: Cronos price soars 15% amid strategic crypto reserve speculations