EOS, IOTA, and Hedera Hashgraph Surge as Bitcoin Finds Resistance at $97k

Popular layer-2 cryptocurrencies like EOS, IOTA, and Hedera Hashgraph were among the top gainers on Friday as Bitcoin found resistance at $97,000.

Popular layer-2 cryptocurrencies, including EOS, IOTA, and Hedera Hashgraph, posted strong gains on Friday as Bitcoin encountered resistance at the crucial $97,000 level.

EOS (EOS) surged to $0.9570, reflecting a gain of over 36% from its December lows, pushing its valuation to more than $1.2 billion. This rally was largely driven by an announcement from Binance regarding an APR boost airdrop through the BNSOL Super Stake program. The airdrop will commence on January 6 and continue until January 20, with users set to receive a total of 320,656 EOS tokens, valued at nearly $300,000.

We're excited to announce that you can now earn $EOS APR boost Airdrop rewards through the @binance BNSOL Super Stake program!

Duration: 06/01/2025 – 20/01/2025

Rewards: 320,656.41 EOS

Daily Rewards: 21,377.09 EOS

Binance users who hold or stake $SOL into BNSOL in… https://t.co/042tPG71fK

Launched by Block.one, EOS had a strong performance in 2024 as its turnaround strategy progressed. Its total value locked in the DeFi industry space rose to over $254 million, driven by projects such as EOS Rex, Defibox, and Paycash.

Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR) rose by more than 10% to reach a high of $0.3200. The token has risen by over 630% from its 2024 lows. Its latest rally is linked to speculation about a potential HBAR ETF, with expectations rising ahead of Donald Trump's swearing-in later this month.

Eric Balchunas, head of ETF strategy at Bloomberg, predicted that the SEC will approve a spot HBAR ETF. He noted that the agency has not previously categorized Hedera as a security, which increases the likelihood of approval.

Hedera's ecosystem has also seen growth, with its TVL climbing to $186 million, supported by platforms like Stader, Bonzo Finance, and HLiquity.

IOTA (IOTA) price increased for three consecutive days, forming a bullish chart pattern known as the “three white crows,” which is characterized by three consecutive bullish candlesticks in a downtrend.

IOTA's rally, which we predicted, is because, as shown below, the token formed a falling wedge and a double-bottom pattern at $0.2785. It also rebounded ahead of the Rebased upgrade, which will introduce more features like staking, full decentralization, and parallelized MoveVM.

Bitcoin price finds resistance at $97k

These tokens rallied as Bitcoin (BTC) price stalled at the important resistance at $97,000 after rising for four consecutive days.

Looking ahead, Bitcoin and these altcoins will react to the upcoming Gary Gensler resignation at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gensler, who is widely seen as an anti-crypto regulator, will be replaced by Paul Atkins, who has supported the industry.

Cryptocurrencies may also see renewed momentum ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20. Trump has shifted his stance and become vocal about supporting the crypto industry. According to Arkham, he holds over $9.4 million in crypto tokens.

His company, World Liberty Financial, has over $78.7 million in assets. While the market has priced in Trump's victory, there are expectations that crypto prices could rise further as the inauguration approaches.