Aptos (APT) is up over 10% in the last 24 hours following Aptos Labs’ acquisition of HashPallete. The token is leading the market after becoming the biggest gainer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Aptos expands its presence in Asia

On Thursday, Aptos Labs, the creator of the Aptos network, announced agreed to acquire Japanese blockchain developer HashPallete, the company behind the Japanese Palette Chain network and subsidiary HashPort Inc.

The deal aims to be a “game changer for Japan and the Aptos ecosystem” as its integration with the Japanese blockchain is expected to strengthen its presence in the Asian market:

Japan has long been a center of technological innovation, and when it comes to blockchain, it is no different. The country’s unique combination of advanced technology and widespread adoption of blockchain technology makes it a model for Web3 initiatives around the world. Today we are making one of our boldest strategic moves in this market by entering into an agreement to acquire HashPalette Inc.

As part of the acquisition of HashPort Inc. will migrate Pallete Chain and its subsidiary’s applications to the Aptos network. The Japanese network will also have access to the security, scalability and development tools of the Aptos ecosystem.

The migration is expected to be completed in early 2025, in time for the EXPO2025 DIGITAL WALLET. Moreover, Aptos Labs has partnered with HashPort to support local developers, NFT creators, and enterprises by “continuing to build blockchain solutions (…) using the Aptos Network infrastructure.”

APT is the leader of the cryptocurrency market

Following the announcement, APT saw an 11% intraday gain, jumping to the $8.66 resistance level before recovering to the $8.51 level. This performance crowned the token as the leading cryptocurrency during the market pullback.

APT is one of the few cryptocurrencies that are trading in green numbers on most time frames, among the top 100 tokens by market capitalization. The altcoin is up 7.5% and 41% on the weekly and monthly time frames.

Additionally, the market’s daily volume increased by 41.7%, reaching a trading volume of $769.6 million in the last 24 hours. The token’s performance was highlighted by several cryptocurrency analysts who felt that APT had the “most interesting chart” at the moment.

According to Yuri from BikoTrading, the cryptocurrency looks like this powerful as rising trading volumes and price behavior “indicate further growth.” The trader noted that APT price held above a key resistance zone amid a market retracement that sent the token above the Q3 range highs.

Likewise cryptocurrency trader Osbrah he stated that APT is “secretly climbing the most interesting alt charts.” He emphasized that after the market changed on October 1, the token had a “pure bullish retest” above the $8 level.

For the trader, the next substantial resistance is at $9, which could push APT price into the $7.95 support zone if it fails to reclaim it. Meanwhile, another market observer suggested that the altcoin’s performance may be close to a breakout.

From this post, it appears that SUI and APT have been on a “catch-up” path for the past year, remaining close to each other until SUI is decoupled in early 2024. This led to a 44-day lag period for APT before it followed suit. SUI movements. APT then surged 98% to a yearly high of $18.8 in mid-March.

Currently, APT has seen a 32-day lag period following SUI’s re-separation in September, showing “incredible strength.” Based on this, the analyst suggests that the cryptocurrency could follow SUI’s trajectory and begin a massive rally in the next two weeks if history repeats itself.

Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com