News 
January 9, 2025 
7 min. 
The crypto market is busy with several digital assets showing robust market performance. This week, three tokens, Strike (STRK), Steem (STEEM), and Alpha Quark Token (AQT) stood out after impressing investors and traders with remarkable market performance.
This article highlights the various factors and events behind their latest price upswings and why they could be worth watching in the third week of January. Whether you’re an experienced trader or just curious, these insights can help you stay informed.
Top Crypto To Monitor in The Third Week of January
The cryptocurrency market saw turbulence as Bitcoin fell from $100,000 to $92,500, driven by rising bond yields and concerns over Federal Reserve policies. Meanwhile, XRP displayed strength following Ripple CEO’s meeting with President-elect Trump.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes forecasts $612 billion in new liquidity for the US Treasury by March 2025, which could ease regulatory uncertainties under the incoming administration. Meanwhile, the next segment highlights the top cryptos to watch in the third week of January, including Strike, Steem, and Alpha Quark Token.
Strike (STRK)
Strike, a revolutionary DeFi lending protocol, has captured investors’ attention with its remarkable performance. The token has soared more than 157% in the past 24 hours. The protocol’s native token STRIKE has demonstrated exceptional strength, particularly as the broader crypto market faces a 3.2% decline.
Trading at $19.58, STRIKE has established itself as a standout performer in the Ethereum ecosystem. With a robust 24-hour trading volume of $2.45 billion, the token’s market capitalization has reached $106.6 million, supported by a circulating supply of 5.4 million tokens. This remarkable growth outpaces similar Ethereum-based projects, which have posted gains of 12.70% on average.
Strike’s success stems from its innovative approach to crypto lending. The protocol introduces a unique system where users earn interest by depositing their crypto assets into supported markets. In return, they receive sTokens – special tokens that appreciate in value over time, representing their growing stake in the lending pool. This system allows for seamless interest distribution and easy asset redemption.
Investors can access STRIKE through several major cryptocurrency exchanges, with KuCoin leading the way as the most active trading platform. The STRIKE/USDT trading pair on KuCoin has maintained healthy liquidity, recording a trading volume of $226,762 in recent 24-hour trading.
Steem (STEEM)
Steem (STEEM) is gaining attention this week as a community-focused blockchain that combines the power of social media and cryptocurrency. The platform enables users to post and curate content while earning cryptocurrency as a reward for their contributions.
Its unique reward system ensures fairness, valuing each user’s input to the network. This approach not only drives engagement but also builds a strong, incentivized community. By leveraging its decentralized structure, Steem offers users a publicly available, incentivized blockchain database where interactions are both meaningful and rewarding.
The token’s recent performance has further solidified its position as one to watch. Currently priced at $0.3247, Steem has seen an impressive 11.65% increase in the last 24 hours and a staggering 33.39% rise over the past week.
With a circulating supply of 480 million STEEM, the project boasts a market cap of $158,121,745. This growth is backed by a 24-hour trading volume of $576,882,409, indicating strong market interest.
Major trading activity is occurring on platforms like Bithumb, where the STEEM/KRW pair alone has generated over $55.5 million in volume. Other exchanges such as Gate.io and BingX also show active trading, further highlighting its growing demand.
What makes Steem particularly noteworthy is its ability to merge decentralized technology with real-world applications. By rewarding users for their contributions, the network fosters an environment that values engagement and creativity.
Combined with its recent bullish momentum and high trading activity, Steem has become a project worth monitoring in the third week of January. Its innovative approach and increasing market confidence suggest that it could continue to capture attention in the weeks ahead.
Alpha Quark Token (AQT)
Alpha Quark Token (AQT) has positioned itself as a unique project in the blockchain space by focusing on intellectual property-based NFTs and the metaverse. It provides a platform where users can mint, promote, and trade NFTs linked to valuable assets like music, webtoon, and movie copyrights. By creating a marketplace and integrating metaverse experiences, Alpha Quark enables users to interact with these digital assets while using AQT as a utility token.
Meanwhile , the current price of Alpha Quark Token is $2.82. AQT has experienced a remarkable 132.23% price increase in the last 24 hours and a 139.17% surge over the past week. With a circulating supply of 27 million tokens, the project’s market cap now stands at $74,811,145. Its 24-hour trading volume of $1.46 billion signals strong investor interest and active trading.
What makes AQT stand out is its ability to outperform broader market trends. While the global cryptocurrency market has declined by 3.80% over the past week, Alpha Quark has shown significant resilience and growth. Additionally, it outpaces other Ethereum ecosystem tokens, which have seen an average increase of 12.70%.
Alpha Quark’s innovative approach to liquidating intellectual property into NFTs creates a new and accessible market for digital assets. This focus on valuable intellectual property, combined with its growing integration into the metaverse, positions the token as a leader in this niche. Its strong performance and unique value proposition make AQT a cryptocurrency to watch closely in the coming weeks.
