APT claimed the top gainer position on October 22 amid a significant increase in the total value locked in the protocol. The price of Aptos (APT) rose by 9% in the past 24 hours, reaching a daily high of $11.13 at the time of writing. The market cap of APT surpassed $5.7 billion, with a daily trading volume exceeding $597 million.
This price rally occurred after the altcoin broke out of a tight trading range of $9.7 to $10.1, which it had been trading within for the past five days. During the early trading hours on October 22, a strong upward movement occurred on the APT chart, pushing its price from $10.10 to $11.12.
Several recent partnerships and developments have contributed to this rally. Firstly, Aptos integrated with Echo Protocol, a decentralized finance platform, on October 21. This integration boosted the total value locked in Aptos to $150 million. Echo protocol users can now earn returns of up to 10% in APT, expanding the use cases of the altcoin.
According to data from DeFi Llama, Aptos’ total value locked currently stands at an all-time high of $2.15 billion, making it the seventh largest blockchain in the DeFi industry. This surpasses its competitor Sui (SUI), which has a total value locked of $1.64 billion.
Additionally, Aptos gained attention after announcing a strategic partnership with crypto exchange MEXC. This collaboration will involve joint initiatives aimed at promoting APT through a series of events.
These developments have sparked renewed interest among traders. Open interest in the futures market surged from $213.9 million to $274 million within the last 24 hours, reaching a six-month high. This significant increase suggests that traders are expecting the rally to continue in the short term. The majority of traders on CoinMarketCap also expressed a bullish sentiment.
Technical indicators further support the upside potential of Aptos. Pseudonymous analyst AMCrypto observed that Aptos is forming a bullish flag pattern, supported by increasing total value locked, a surge in daily active users, and smart money quietly accumulating the token. These factors indicate strong fundamentals and technical momentum, positioning Aptos for a potential breakout to new all-time highs in the fourth quarter.
Based on the chart shared by the analyst, a breakout above the $10.50 resistance level would confirm the bull flag. At the time of writing, APT had already surpassed this level, trading at $10.96. Therefore, APT could potentially rally towards a short-term price target of around $12.50, as projected by AMCrypto.
On the 1D APT/USDT chart, the 50-day moving average crossed the 200-day moving average, leading to the formation of a golden cross. This is a sign of a major trend reversal to the upside in technical analysis.
Moreover, the Relative Strength Index has been above the neutral position since September 18, indicating sustained interest from investors and supporting the overall bullish narrative.
As the bulls continue to maintain control and with the recent golden cross signaling a longer-term uptrend, APT could potentially push towards higher resistance levels. The next target could be around $11.08, marked by the upper Bollinger Band.
Read more: Aptos surges 20% in 24 hours, open interest reaches 6-month high