Stacks (STX) price rises, hitting a new weekly high at $0.90

Bitcoin layer-2 protocol shows bullish resilience, trading at $0.88 at the time of writing, reflecting growing institutional interest in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

Stacks (STX) price hit a new weekly high of $0.90 during the Asian session on Friday.

Bitcoin layer-2 protocol recovered after falling below $0.80.

The token price action appears to be sustaining the uptrend, targeting highs above $1.00.

Bitcoin (BTC) sidechains have performed impressively in the last few weeks, with the largest chain in the ecosystem, Stacks, leading the gains. Since hitting a low of $0.47 in April, STX's value has surged by more than 80%.

This price increase coincides with a broader bullish trend in the cryptocurrency market, which saw Bitcoin briefly rise above $94,000 on Wednesday.

According to on-chain data shared by the Stacks team on X, previously Twitter, investor interest in DeFi products is a key factor driving up the price of STX. For instance, the protocol's stablecoins market capitalization surged by more than 400% to reach nearly $6 million. As the chart below shows, Stacks is the third-largest protocol in this sector, trailing behind Cronos and Morph.

Stacks stablecoin market capitalization - Credit: CryptoRank

Moreover, institutional interest in the Bitcoin ecosystem continues to fuel Stacks' growth, supported by significant developments like Grayscale launching the STX Trust Fund. Select cryptocurrency exchanges such as crypto.com currently offer STX staking, allowing investors to lock their tokens to earn rewards. The increase in staking balance suggests investor confidence is growing amid heightened market activity.

Stacks is back in the green based on monthly returns data compiled by CryptoRank. After recording declines in the first three months: -13.5% in January, -37.4% in February and -27.1% in March, Stacks returns in April stand at more than 44%, breaking a pattern of negative returns observed in the same month for three consecutive years.

Stacks monthly returns (USD) | Credit: CryptoRank

The derivatives market also highlights STX's growth, with Open Interest (OI) increasing 25.63% to $73.26 million in the last 24 hours. Subsequently, the surge in the volume by 54.4% to approximately $283 million could confirm the heightened market activity and trader confidence in the token.

Stacks derivatives data | Source | Coinglass

Stacks price jumps, closing in on $1

Stacks price trades at $0.88 at the time of writing as bulls battle resistance at $0.90, which is also the 12-hour 200 Exponential Moving Average (EMA). An upward-moving Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator is overbought at 78.56, signaling strong bullish momentum. This bullish outlook and rising trading volume support STX's potential to rise above the next crucial resistance at $1.00.

STX/USDT 12-hour chart

The broader sentiment in the cryptocurrency market is expected to remain positive on Friday, supported by Bitcoin's move above $93,000. However, the overbought conditions, especially for STX, could slow the uptrend, possibly resulting in a reversal ahead of the weekend.

Therefore, traders could keep key levels such as the green dotted descending trendline, the 100 EMA at $0.70, and the 50 EMA at $0.66 in mind as potential support areas in case of a larger retracement.