October, which has historically been a bullish month for the crypto market, did not start well this time. But as the month progressed, several altcoins found their footing and have shown promising potential.

In this analysis, BeInCrypto highlights three altcoins to watch closely in the third week of October 2024. These picks, backed by notable reasons, include Ethena (ENA), EigenLayer (EIGEN), and Avalanche (AVAX).

Ethena (ENA) Breakout Imminent as SOL Proposal Gains Traction

ENA, the native token of the dollar-dominated saving protocol, tops the list of altcoins to watch this week. In the last 24 hours, its price has increased by 16.54% while trading at $0.39.

This price surge is linked to Ethena’s proposal to add Solana (SOL) as a backing instrument for USDe, its synthetic dollar stablecoin. 

“The proposed allocation would be scaled into slowly in consultation with the Risk Committee, considering SOL perpetual futures shorter history of trading, less liquidity, and less historical funding rate data. However, SOL’s ~$2bn of open interest across venues where Ethena presently executes hedging transactions, combined with more favorable funding so far in 2024 relative to BTC and ETH, presents an attractive opportunity to further align Ethena and USDe with one of crypto’s largest ecosystems,” Ethena Lads said in the official announcement.

According to the daily chart, ENA is about to break out of the accumulation zone around $0.40. A look at the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) shows a bullish crossover, possibly validating an extended uptrend.

The MACD measures trend direction using the positions of the 12 and 26-period Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs). When the longer EMA crosses the shorter one, the trend is bearish. However, as seen below, the 12 EMA (blue) has crossed over the 26 EMA (orange), indicating that buyers are in control.

Read more: 12 Best Altcoin Exchanges for Crypto Trading in October 2024

As long as this remains the same, ENA’s price might climb above the $0.50 resistance. Once that happens, the token could rise to $0.77 before attempting to rise above $1 again. On the other hand, if it experiences widespread selling pressure, ENA might drop to $0.20.

EigenLayer (EIGEN) Price Could Surge After Unlock

Second on the list is EigenLayer (EIGEN), which is set to unlock 11 million tokens on October 15. After the last unlock, EIGEN surged by 20%, raising speculation about a similar outcome this time.

However, between October 12 and 13, EIGEN saw a 9.19% decline. Today, the token has made a slight rebound. While the altcoin could experience resistance at $3.73, the support at $3.58 appears to be strong, which bulls could capitalize on and break above the hurdle.

Should this happen, EIGEN’s price could jump to $3.97 before the week runs out. However, traders should watch out. If demand for the token after the unlock is underwhelming, EIGEN could fall to $3.35.

Avalanche Foundation Buyback Boosts AVAX Price Outlook

This list of altcoins would be incomplete without AVAX. The major reason for the token’s inclusion is Avalanche Foundation’s decision to buy back 1.97 million AVAX from Terraform Labs, otherwise known as the Luna Foundation Guard (LGF).

In April 2022, the foundation sold the tokens for $45.50 million. Today, those tokens are worth nearly $60 million. On October 11, the Avalanche Foundation announced that it had repurchased the tokens and is waiting for approval from the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

“This action ensures that LFG would not violate the original agreement’s restrictions on the tokens’ use and shields the tokens from the complexity of a bankruptcy trustee liquidation while returning 1.97M AVAX to the Foundation’s holdings. This further enhances the Foundation’s ability to support the ongoing growth and development of the Avalanche ecosystem,” the Foundation revealed via a post on X.

Read more: 11 Cryptos To Add To Your Portfolio Before Altcoin Season

On the daily chart, AVAX’s price is close to breaking the $30 mark for the first time in October. If achieved, this would help the altcoin rise above the descending trendline and raise the price higher.

The Money Flow Index (MFI), which measures the level of capital injection, also supports this outlook. The MFI reading has surged past the 50.00 neutral level, indicating rising buying pressure.

If this trend continues, AVAX’s price might rise by 30% to $38.18 in the short term. In the event that buying pressure reduces, the prediction might be invalidated. If that happens, AVAX could drop to $24.68.