These are the 5 best performing cryptocurrencies over the past week amid bitcoin bear market

• While bitcoin and ethereum dominate the headlines, there are more than 16,000 other crypto coins.
• With less liquidity and more volatility, these alternative cryptocurrencies can deliver investors massive losses or gains in a short period of time.
• These are the five best performing cryptocurrencies over the past week, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin's bear market has sucked the life out of many popular cryptocurrencies, with the total crypto market capitalization falling from $3 trillion to just under $2 trillion as of Friday. But other cryptocurrencies are performing just fine despite the shift to a mostly risk-off environment.

With 16,515 cryptocurrencies in existence and counting, there are more than triple the number of crypto coins than there are US exchange-listed stocks. That massive amount of supply makes it nearly impossible to keep track of all the big movers in the crypto sector outside of well known coins like bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin.

The surge in new crypto coins has come amid a massive bull market for the sector in 2021, but a 40% decline in bitcoin from its November high is challenging the space, especially in smaller coins that saw extraordinary gains last year like solana, cardano, and polkadot.

With less liquidity and more volatility, these alternative cryptocurrencies can deliver investors massive losses or gains in a short period of time. Shiba inu is down 65% from its recent high, but is still up big over the past year. Meanwhile, squid game token fell 99% in a single day after delivering swift gains of 75,000%.

Keeping an eye on the weekly winners can help investors identify which coins are beginning to see increased traction in the crypto community.

These are the five best performing cryptocurrencies with a market value of more than $1 billion over the past week, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

5. Internet Computer

Symbol: ICP
Market Value: $5.7 billion
7-Day Performance: 16.0%

4. Fantom

Symbol: FTM
Market Value: $6.9 billion
7-Day Performance: 17.6%

3. Chainlink

Symbol: LINK
Market Value: $11.6 billion
7-Day Performance: 23.3%

2. Harmony

Symbol: ONE
Market Value: $3.6 billion
7-Day Performance: 30.2%

1. Cosmos

Symbol: ATOM
Market Value: $9.7 billion
7-Day Performance: 34.9%