Bitcoin, XRP, Pepe, Mantra and more: Cryptocurrencies to watch this week

Bitcoin reached another peak last week, holding steady—despite some fluctuations—at $90,000. Crypto enthusiasts are eagerly watching and speculating when the flagship cryptocurrency will finally break the $100,000 barrier. With President-elect Donald Trump preparing to assume office, that milestone may not be far off. Bitcoin’s performance is expected to ripple through the entire crypto market.

At present, Bitcoin is up nearly 10% compared to last week.

XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger, an open-source blockchain. It is used by the Ripple payment network to facilitate cross-border transactions and is designed to act as a bridge currency. It’s important to note that Ripple, the company, operates the network but does not own XRP.

Last week, trading platform Robinhood added XRP to its offerings—a promising development for the token’s accessibility and liquidity. This renewed interest from exchanges is expected to draw more investors and traders to XRP.

Currently, XRP is trading at $1.1, with over 92% gain in the past week.

The rapid growth of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu has also propelled other memecoins, such as Pepe—a frog-themed cryptocurrency that now ranks among the top 20 by market capitalization. Riding the wave of bullish market sentiment, Pepe has surged over 72% in the past week and is currently trading at $0.0000207.

The Stellar network, renowned for its efficient and cost-effective blockchain solutions, has earned the trust of major financial institutions globally. Earlier this year, a leader in digital asset infrastructure, Switzerland-based Taurus, announced its integration with the Stellar network, expanding its presence in the asset tokenization market.

Currently, Stellar (XLM) is trading at $0.2426, reflecting an impressive 122% gain.

Mantra (OM) (OM) is a specialized blockchain network dedicated to the issuance, trading, and secure management of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). These assets encompass a wide range of categories, including real estate, private equity, artwork, and treasuries. By enabling the tokenization of these tangible assets, Mantra is bridging the gap between traditional finance and blockchain technology, offering investors a more accessible and secure way to diversify their portfolios.

Mantra partnered with cloud computing giant Google Cloud in late October, sparking a significant rally in the price of its native token. On Sunday, Mantra hit an all-time high of $3.42.

Currently, the token is trading at $4.27, marking a staggering 206% gain in just one week.