The crypto markets delivered fireworks this week, especially on the altcoin front. As industry insiders reignite DeFi debates and Twitter stokes speculative flames, the market is once again rewarding high-beta plays — with eye-popping gains for a handful of under-the-radar tokens. Here's everything you need to know from trading desks to Twitter threads.
Altcoins are back in vogue, with retail chasing gains in mid- to low-cap tokens. Crypto Twitter and Dune data show increased interest in liquid restaking protocols. BTC dominance dipped, signaling a potential mini-alt season. Volume surges on Base and Blast chains suggest DeFi activity is climbing again.
It’s been a riveting roller coaster on the crypto carousel this week, as the altcoin market delivered its best imitation of a phoenix rising — with WBT (WhiteBIT Token) leading a firestorm 30.73% rally. The rest of the top gainers list reads like a nostalgic alt-season bingo card: ZBCN surged 22.94%, XCN packed on 18.60%, KTA grabbed 18.07%, and AERO took off with a 15.62% climb.
WBT’s rally in particular appears to be driven by rising liquidity on the WhiteBIT exchange, coupled with renewed staking incentives quietly dropped via a Telegram update that caught fire on Crypto Twitter. Meanwhile, ZBCN’s pump was linked to speculative trading after a rumor that Zero Blockchain Network might integrate with Cosmos IBC — though no formal announcement has materialized (yet).
Low-cap gems reclaiming headlines? Feels like 2021 vibes are creeping back in.
No week would be complete without a few market casualties. TKX led the downward pack, tumbling 7.16%, followed by VENOM (-5.59%), AXL (-3.41%), and anchored safe-haven tokens PAXG and XAUT — both down by 1.96% in tandem. The latter may reflect risk-off flows rather than outright bearishness. Interestingly, gold-backed crypto assets dipped despite physical gold prices flirting with all-time highs, suggesting traders may be exiting tokenized gold for BTC or yield-farming alternatives.
The TKX drop stunned some, given its recent hype. A possible explanation? Binance and KuCoin listings for rival exchange tokens diluted TKX’s momentum, stealing some speculative thunder.
Scan the vibes on Crypto Twitter, and one trend is clear: DeFi is back in fashion. Several influencers — including DeFi Dad and ChainLinkGod — reignited conversations about restaking protocols and liquid staking derivatives. This shift correlates with a pickup in volumes on secondary DeFi chains, including Base and Blast, which have seen TVLs climb by 7% and 9% respectively this week.
Wallet chatter around 'liquid restaking' has skyrocketed 120% this month, according to data from Dune Analytics. That may be fueling speculative flows into altcoins like KTA and XCN, which have loose ties to DeFi building blocks.
While no Pepe-level memes appeared this week, retail chatter across Reddit and TikTok seems to favor smaller-cap coins — precisely the kind we’re seeing pump. This behavior tracks historically with periods of increasing risk appetite and falling implied volatility. Bitcoin dominance is hovering just above 52%, down from over 54% two weeks ago, suggesting alts are starting to siphon attention again.
It’s also worth noting that the Fear & Greed Index is back at 70 ('Greed' territory), a level which historically precedes local peaks in BTC and rotations into speculative altcoins soon after. We might be witnessing exactly that rotation now.
Beneath the surface-level action lies a larger truth — we’re in a consolidation regime. BTC remains in a narrowing range between $64K and $67K, while ETH hasn’t convincingly broken from the $3,400 pocket. But what matters here is rotational capital: while BTC cools, sidelined liquidity seeks action in high-beta names. Hence, the alt surge.
This kind of environment is ripe for fast arbitrage and pair-trading strategies. Our internal trading desk flagged unusually high correlation breaks between ETH/BTC and several mid-cap DeFi tokens — a sign of inefficiency (and opportunity).
Given current market structure, we expect extensions in WBT and ZBCN could persist, especially if BTC remains stable above $65K. However, parabolic charts like these historically mean-revert, so it may be time to look for late-momentum shorts or at least tight trailing stop placements.
On the downside, continued weakness in TKX could coincide with broader exchange token softness, particularly as regulatory chatter around exchange transparency heats up globally. Avoid leverage and keep your eyes glued to Twitter for alpha leaks.
It’s been a riveting roller coaster on the crypto carousel this week, as the altcoin market delivered its best imitation of a phoenix rising — with WBT (WhiteBIT Token) leading a firestorm 30.73% rally. The rest of the top gainers list reads like a nostalgic alt-season bingo card: ZBCN surged 22.94%, XCN packed on 18.60%, KTA grabbed 18.07%, and AERO took off with a 15.62% climb.
WBT’s rally in particular appears to be driven by rising liquidity on the WhiteBIT exchange, coupled with renewed staking incentives quietly dropped via a Telegram update that caught fire on Crypto Twitter. Meanwhile, ZBCN’s pump was linked to speculative trading after a rumor that Zero Blockchain Network might integrate with Cosmos IBC — though no formal announcement has materialized (yet).
Low-cap gems reclaiming headlines? Feels like 2021 vibes are creeping back in.
No week would be complete without a few market casualties. TKX led the downward pack, tumbling 7.16%, followed by VENOM (-5.59%), AXL (-3.41%), and anchored safe-haven tokens PAXG and XAUT — both down by 1.96% in tandem. The latter may reflect risk-off flows rather than outright bearishness. Interestingly, gold-backed crypto assets dipped despite physical gold prices flirting with all-time highs, suggesting traders may be exiting tokenized gold for BTC or yield-farming alternatives.
The TKX drop stunned some, given its recent hype. A possible explanation? Binance and KuCoin listings for rival exchange tokens diluted TKX’s momentum, stealing some speculative thunder.
Scan the vibes on Crypto Twitter, and one trend is clear: DeFi is back in fashion. Several influencers — including DeFi Dad and ChainLinkGod — reignited conversations about restaking protocols and liquid staking derivatives. This shift correlates with a pickup in volumes on secondary DeFi chains, including Base and Blast, which have seen TVLs climb by 7% and 9% respectively this week.
Wallet chatter around 'liquid restaking' has skyrocketed 120% this month, according to data from Dune Analytics. That may be fueling speculative flows into altcoins like KTA and XCN, which have loose ties to DeFi building blocks.
While no Pepe-level memes appeared this week, retail chatter across Reddit and TikTok seems to favor smaller-cap coins — precisely the kind we’re seeing pump. This behavior tracks historically with periods of increasing risk appetite and falling implied volatility. Bitcoin dominance is hovering just above 52%, down from over 54% two weeks ago, suggesting alts are starting to siphon attention again.
It’s also worth noting that the Fear & Greed Index is back at 70 ('Greed' territory), a level which historically precedes local peaks in BTC and rotations into speculative altcoins soon after. We might be witnessing exactly that rotation now.
Beneath the surface-level action lies a larger truth — we’re in a consolidation regime. BTC remains in a narrowing range between $64K and $67K, while ETH hasn’t convincingly broken from the $3,400 pocket. But what matters here is rotational capital: while BTC cools, sidelined liquidity seeks action in high-beta names. Hence, the alt surge.
This kind of environment is ripe for fast arbitrage and pair-trading strategies. Our internal trading desk flagged unusually high correlation breaks between ETH/BTC and several mid-cap DeFi tokens — a sign of inefficiency (and opportunity).
Given current market structure, we expect extensions in WBT and ZBCN could persist, especially if BTC remains stable above $65K. However, parabolic charts like these historically mean-revert, so it may be time to look for late-momentum shorts or at least tight trailing stop placements.
On the downside, continued weakness in TKX could coincide with broader exchange token softness, particularly as regulatory chatter around exchange transparency heats up globally. Avoid leverage and keep your eyes glued to Twitter for alpha leaks.
WBT surged 30.73% this week, marking the strongest performance among top 100 tokens. On the flip side, TKX fell over 7%, possibly due to exchange token fatigue. Meanwhile, liquid restaking protocols are heating up on Twitter and DEX volume is shifting toward newer L2s like Base and Blast.
Consider monitoring lower-cap DeFi tokens with strong on-chain traction and recent protocol upgrades. In sideway BTC markets, capital often flows into narratives — and right now, that narrative is liquid staking derivatives.
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