The cryptocurrency market was highly prosperous last week, witnessing a remarkable 16% surge in the global crypto market cap to $2.32 trillion. During this positive trend, altcoins like Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) are among the top cryptocurrencies to watch heading into Monday.

ETH breaches $3,400

ETH is up 9.6% this week.

As Bitcoin (BTC) garnered significant attention from market participants this week, Ethereum capitalized on the rally, achieving substantial surges beyond crucial psychological thresholds that had historically posed formidable challenges during its previous rallies.

At the onset of the week, Ethereum started on a positive note, securing an impressive three-day winning streak spanning from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28. During this period, the cryptocurrency overcame the psychological resistance levels at $3,200 and $3,300.

Remarkably, Feb. 28 stood out as Ethereum’s most bullish day, with the asset surging 4.40% amid Bitcoin’s rally beyond $63,000. However, ETH experienced a pullback on Feb. 29 after reaching a peak of $3,521. The last time ETH saw the $3,500 level was in April 2022, before the Terra-induced price slump.

After retesting $3,500 on Feb. 29 due to increased exchange outflows, Ethereum faced intense bearish pressure, resulting in a 1.33% decline — this marked Ethereum’s first intraday loss for the week. Nonetheless, a recovery campaign on March 1 saw ETH breach and retain $3,400.

Despite facing selling pressure attributed to rising exchange inflows and a potentially overbought RSI, Ethereum has managed to stay above $3,400, currently trading for $3,411 at the reporting time.

DOGE records a 55% surge

While Ethereum recorded a bullish week, its gains pale compared to Dogecoin. Notably, DOGE emerged as one of the most significant beneficiaries of the market uptrend despite commencing the week at a modest price of $0.08611. 

Before the recent rally, Dogecoin had been in a consolidation phase, fluctuating between $0.094 and $0.076 since the beginning of the year, with $0.09438 acting as a formidable resistance level. On Feb. 27, DOGE successfully surpassed this threshold, rallying to a peak of $0.10058.

Following the correction at the $0.10 resistance, Dogecoin maintained its position above the $0.094 level, concluding Feb. 27 at $0.00766 with an impressive 9.45% intraday gain. The meme coin built on this momentum, achieving a substantial 18.69% gain on Feb. 28, as it surpassed the $0.11 and $0.12 levels.

DOGE sustained its uptrend until it hit a 16-month high of $0.15074 on March 2. This price represented a 75% increase from Dogecoin’s weekly opening price of $0.08611. The token expectedly faced stern resistance at $0.15, but held up well above $0.14, closing the day at $0.14206.

In a notable retracement from the March 2 highs, Dogecoin has experienced a 6.07% drop today as the market corrects from the week-long uptrend. Despite these bearish developments, DOGE maintains a considerable 55% gain for the week, currently trading at $0.13335.

SHIB makes it to the top gainers’ list

The crypto market witnessed a resurgence of meme coins amid the uptrend, with Shiba Inu surfacing as one of the biggest gainers. SHIB began the week at the $0.000009 level, a threshold it had continued to trade at amid the previous market bearish consolidation phase.

Shiba Inu held above $0.000009 at the time, looking to leverage the threshold as a springboard for more substantial gains when a market uptrend comes up. This plan went well, as the asset took advantage of the Bitcoin rally to secure one of the most substantial weekly gains in the market.

SHIB recorded multiple substantial intraday gains, with the lowest coming in at 4.18% on Feb. 26.

The month of March bode well for the token, as it recorded its largest intraday gains on March 1 and March 2 soaring 34.33% and 33.93%, respectively. SHIB eventually flipped MATIC, DOT and TRX to become the 12th largest asset by market cap.

Amid these price surges, SHIB breached the $0.00001 and $0.00002 zones, soaring to a 22-month high of $0.00002390 on March 2 before witnessing a retracement. Despite the retracement, Shiba Inu has retained a spot among the top 5 gainers this week, changing hands at $0.00002176 amid a 125% weekly gain.