What happened
So... those who haven't checked their crypto portfolios yet, might want to.
Crypto markets are in turmoil right now. Most major cryptocurrencies are bleeding, driven by outsized moves at the top of the value chain.
This market turmoil started late-Friday evening and continued into early Saturday morning. However, by end of day Saturday, much of the market mayhem has died down, to some degree.
As of 11:45pm ET, Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) and Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP) were two of the bigger losers among large cap cryptocurrencies. Cardano was down 8.4%, while Ripple saw declines of 7.4% over the past 24 hours.
However, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), a top-5 cryptocurrency by market capitalization, recovered most of its gains from the earlier crypto crash, down only 1.8% since the mayhem began. And Terra (CRYPTO: LUNA) was the big winner-up 20.8% over the past 24 hours.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Starting with the good news-Terra has been a big winner among mega-cap cryptocurrencies of late. This network provides crucial stable coin infrastructure, and appears to increasingly be viewed as a more stable (no kidding) hedge to the volatility that's been reeking havoc in the crypto markets.
Solana's positioning as a smart contract/decentralized finance (DeFi) network able to compete with Ethereum has enticed many investors to consider this top token. Accordingly, it appears the market is taking a buy-the-dip approach with this top token.
Ripple and Cardano are two cryptocurrencies with their own set of token-specific headwinds of late. Various regulatory and delisting concerns have plagued the two cryptocurrencies, leading to headwinds which appear to be hindering these tokens' recovery today.
Now what
Looking at the price action of these four cryptocurrencies, investors can take away two things.
First, the crypto market is a fast-moving space with very unique blockchains, each with individual catalysts and headwinds. Investors looking at picking tokens ought to consider a variety of factors before jumping in. It's a risky business, picking individual tokens.
Second, market-specific forces can, and will, continue to drive momentum across the sector. However, there's always room for divergence from market-specific catalysts. In this case, Terra Luna's upside momentum has overshadowed this weekend's turmoil. And it appears Solana's making a break for it to the upside.
Perhaps Ripple and Cardano will catch up to their peers. However, it seems investors are being more selective with the tokens they're choosing to buy the dip with today.
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Chris MacDonald owns shares of Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
