Some of the top cryptocurrencies to watch this week will be Mantra, Sui, and Optimism.

Why? The cryptocurrency market saw Mantra (OM) reach a new record high Sunday, while Optimism (OP) plans a $53 million token unlock. Sui (SUI), currently on a bearish trajectory, is set to unlock $138 million in tokens this week.

Read on for a more detailed look at the technicals and what the trajectory of each token shows.

Mantra: The top crypto project in the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization industry jumped to a record high of $5.08. That rebound was in line with our recent OM price prediction. 

Mantra soared because of the recent call by BlackRock’s CEO for regulators to approve the tokenization of stocks and bonds. It also reached a deal to tokenize DAMAC’s real estate projects in Dubai.

The daily chart reveals that the Mantra price has formed a bullish flag chart pattern, a popular continuation sign. This pattern comprises a long vertical line and a rectangle pattern, and is then followed by a bullish breakout. 

Mantra’s flag pole is at least 156% tall. As such, measuring the same distance from $4.53 means the coin is expected to rise to $11 in the long term. 

Optimism: The third-biggest layer-2 network prepares to unlock tokens worth over $53 million or 1.48% of the float. It now has over 1.35 billion tokens in circulation against a total supply of 4.29 billion.

Optimism’s unlock comes when the token has been under pressure in the past few months. It has dropped to a low of $1.6295, down by 40.7% from its highest level in November. 

Optimism is hovering at the key support at $1.6076, where it failed to move below since Dec. 20. It has also formed a symmetrical triangle pattern. Therefore, a break below that level will likely point to more downside, potentially to $1.30, its lowest swing in November last year.

Sui: Like Optimism, Sui will also have a big unlock worth $138 million or 1.1% of the float on Thursday. Only 37% of all SUI tokens have been unlocked, with the final one expected to happen in 2069.

Sui’s token unlock comes when it is in a technical bear market after falling 22% from its highest level this year. It has moved below the lower side of the ascending channel. 

The coin has moved below the 50-day moving average, while the Relative Strength Index and the MACD have continued falling. Therefore, the coin will likely continue falling, with the next point to watch being at $2.9415, its lowest point on Nov. 26.

The other top coins to watch this week will be Pi Network, Ethereum, and dYdX.

Pi Network’s know-your-customer verification deadline will end on Jan. 31. Ethereum will be in the spotlight as the market watches the controversy with the Ethereum Foundation.

DYdX will unlock tokens worth $9.6 million on Wednesday.

Sony, the 78-year-old Japanese electronics giant, is the latest legacy megacorp to explore blockchain technology. On Tuesday, the company announced that it is officially launching “Soneum,” a general-purpose blockchain platform.

The team behind Sony Block Solutions Labs (SBSL), a joint project between Sony Group and Singapore-based Startale Labs, describes Soneuim — technically a layer-2 network atop Ethereum — as “a versatile general-purpose blockchain platform” built to support a diverse ecosystem of gaming, finance and entertainment apps. According to SBSL, the launch comes after a four month-long test period that involved participation from 14 million wallets.

Sony’s network is yet more evidence that traditional technology companies might again be keen on blockchain’s ability to connect and commercialize the future of media. The chain is aimed towards “bridging the gap between web2 and web3 audiences, especially for the creators, fans and community,” SBSL said in a statement shared with CoinDesk. “The platform prioritizes user-centric design, simplifying blockchain interactions and evolving web3 from a niche hobby into an everyday experience.”

The team tapped Optimism’s OP Stack to build out their network — a customizable framework that lets developers use optimistic rollup technology to transact on Ethereum quickly and at a low cost.

Other companies using the OP Stack include the U.S. crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken, which use the tech to power their popular Base and Ink networks. Uniswap, the leading decentralized exchange, and Worldcoin, the Sam Altman-founded digital passport, also use OP Stack to power their layer-2 blockchain networks.

In many cases, the Optimism Foundation, which stewards the development of the OP Stack, has awarded grants to companies that agreed to use its tech. SBSL declined to comment on how many OP tokens they would receive as part of this deal, though previous reporting indicates that Optimism’s grants can be substantial.

In August 2023, Coinbase received up to 118 million OP tokens — worth $182 million at the time, or $192 million at today’s prices — to use OP Stack for Base chain. CoinDesk also reported that Kraken received up to 25 million OP tokens, worth roughly $100 million, when it agreed to use the OP Stack in January 2024 (now worth $42 million).

Similar grants are doled out by Optimism competitors like Polygon and Arbitrum, each of whom is dueling to build its own interconnected web of blockchains.

Read more: Sony, Electronics Pioneer Behind Walkman, Starts Own Blockchain ‘Soneium’