**Fantom (FTM) Surges 25% in a Week Amid Market Slump**

Fantom (FTM) has seen a remarkable 25% price increase over the past week, reaching $0.51 on September 16. This surge is part of a broader rebound that began on August 6, with FTM climbing over 40% in the last 30 days.

While major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) have declined by 4% and 12.6% respectively, FTM has emerged as one of the top gainers among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Crypto analyst Mister Crypto attributes this performance to significant developments behind the scenes, including the upcoming Sonic upgrade. Set for late 2024, Sonic will introduce a new Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM), enhance the Lachesis consensus mechanism, and improve database storage, enabling the blockchain to process over 2,000 transactions per second.

Despite these advancements, Fantom’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem has yet to see a revival, with the total value locked (TVL) in its DeFi applications dropping to $86.5 million from a peak of $7.93 billion in March 2022. However, there has been a 22% increase in TVL since August 8, indicating a slight resurgence in interest.

On-chain data shows FTM has strong support, with significant buying activity between $0.47 and $0.48. Technically, FTM is trading below the neckline of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, suggesting potential for further gains if it breaks above $0.53.

Investors should note that every investment carries risk, and thorough research is essential before making any trading decisions.