How the Aptos altcoin (APT) exchange rate changed

The beginning of the Aptos journey (2022)

Initially, the Aptos cryptocurrency was distributed among the network's active participants during airdrop-free token distribution.

When listing on centralized exchanges and the launch of trading at the end of October 2022, the APT cryptocurrency rate was set at $7.26. However, in less than a week, the value of Aptos rose by more than 30% to $9.76.

This phenomenon became known as the "Binance factor", according to which assets skyrocket in value in the first few days after listing on the leading exchange. However, a decline often follows, which is what happened with the native blockchain cryptocurrency Aptos.

After reaching its first high, the APT cryptocurrency plummeted to $3.93 in November of the same year, and then in late December reached its all-time low of $3.09. This was due to the already unfavorable situation in the crypto market, which was exacerbated by the bankruptcy of one of the three most significant crypto exchanges — FTX. The Aptos cryptocurrency simply came out at the wrong time, which led to this result.

However, in early 2023, the price of APT cryptocurrency began to grow rapidly: in less than a month, its value jumped from a historic low to an all-time high of $19.906: the altcoin's rate increased more than 6 times in such a short period.

Such rapid growth may have been facilitated by the events that took place during that period:

1. The emergence of DeFi projects based on the Aptos blockchain. After the token launch, the Aptos ecosystem began to grow rapidly, and new decentralized protocols often attract investors because they offer high returns to liquidity providers at the start. This has stimulated high demand for the APT cryptocurrency.
2. Liquidation of short positions. Amid the bankruptcy of a major exchange such as FTX, many traders bet on the fall of the asset and opened short positions — a contract to sell the asset. Such transactions use leverage, i.e., the trader borrows funds from the exchange. However, if the deal turns out to be unsuccessful (in this case — with the growth of the asset), the short position can be liquidated, and the trader loses all the funds allocated for the deal. Due to the rapid growth of the Aptos cryptocurrency, traders were forced to urgently buy APT to cover their short positions, which pushed the altcoin's price up even more.
3. New liquidity pools on Binance. In the second half of January, the platform opened APT/USDT and APT/BTC pools, which could attract quite a lot of liquidity.

Global correction and a new wave of growth (2023 — 2024)

However, the growth did not last long, and after reaching an all-time high, the Aptos price continued its decline until October 2023. As the global correction in the crypto market continued, investors probably preferred not to take risks and started to take profits or losses, waiting for more opportune moments to buy.

In October 2023, the crypto market started recovering, and quotes for many digital assets increased. Aptos was no exception: by November, the altcoin's rate jumped more than 1.5 times — from $4.83 to $7.79. By the end of 2023, the price of APT cryptocurrency rose to $10.73, and in March 2024, it reached $18.09, slightly short of its historical maximum — the peak of growth in the crypto market.

However, already in April, quotes began to fall rapidly, which traditionally happens after bitcoin halving. As a result, the rate of cryptocurrency Aptos already dropped by more than half in April — to $8.77.

In the summer of 2024, the correction in the crypto market was exacerbated by several other events:

• Sale of 50,000 bitcoins confiscated by the German government;
• Payment of compensation to affected investors of the Mt. Gox exchange, which went bankrupt in 2014;
• The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting on the critical rate was not lowered contrary to expectations.

Already in August, the value of the APT cryptocurrency fell to a one-year low of $4.99. However, Aptos quotes resumed growth ahead of the U.S. presidential election and the long-awaited reduction of the Fed's key rate. By October 2024, the APT rate rose to $10.46, and after Donald Trump's victory in the presidential race in November, after which analysts predicted the rise of cryptocurrencies, the price of Aptos jumped to $12.19.