Markets are dancing to different tunes this week: development-driven alts are flying, while legacy tokens are fading. We break down top movers, the latest Twitter drama, and what it all signals for the weeks ahead.
Builder narratives are back in rotation with DeFi, scalability, and Layer 2 tokens posting strong gains across the board.
Legacy coins with stagnant innovation like BCH are seeing capital outflows and social media disinterest.
Positive perpetual funding rates and decreased spread in alts suggest capital is rotating back into medium-risk plays.
Welcome to this week’s edition of 'Whales and Whiplashes', where the crypto market is dancing with two left feet—agile one moment, clumsy the next. The overall sentiment is cautiously bullish, but the story diverges sharply between sectors. Top performers like PROVE, PI, and AIOZ are clocking impressive double-digit gains, while formerly stable names like BCH and CTC tumble in red. What’s causing this sharp divergence? Let’s dig in.
This week, we’re seeing a clear signal that markets are rotating back into builder tokens—projects with robust fundamentals and actual utility. PROVE catapulted a whopping 25.37%, off the back of chatter from dev blogs about a new whitepaper update focused on Layer 2 scalability features. Not far behind was PI, climbing 18.15%, fueled by buzz around their zero-knowledge proof module being audited by Trail of Bits.
AIOZ (16.99%) is riding the AI and edge computing wave, with investors eyeing its recent partnership with a decentralized CDN project. Meanwhile, KTA (16.65%) and AERO (15.52%) rounded out the top five, lifted by multi-chain DEX integrations that unlock liquidity routing across four major Layer 1s.
On the flip side, we have a string of underperformers, beginning with PUMP, which gave back 4.09%. Traders say its meme-fueled rally is finally losing air. ZBCN and REKT, down 3.58% and 3.40% respectively, are suffering from low liquidity and bearish tokenomics. Bitcoin Cash (BCH), once the poster child for early forks, slipped 2.82%, its worst showing in weeks. That drop followed a report highlighting declining merchant adoption rates—ouch. CTC also shaved off 2.40% as end-of-quarter token unlocks spooked long holders.
This week in the crypto echo chamber, devs reclaimed the spotlight. @defioverlord dropped threads explaining smart contract compression that got over 10K likes, while @airdropsahoy stirred a storm with rumors of an incoming snapshot for the soon-to-be-launched $PULSE token. Meanwhile, we witnessed an all-out governance drama within the MUSE DAO—where a whale's last-minute vote turned the tide on a 7-figure treasury grant. The key thread? While markets wobble, builder communities are staying battle-tested and shipping.
Looking beneath the candles, there's been an 11% increase in 24-hour trading volume on mid-cap alts, particularly in the DeFi and AI-focused segments. Market makers are reporting thinner spreads in PI and KTA, an indicator of improving liquidity. Options volume on BCH dipped 8%, showing that traders are stepping away from the underperformers. Meanwhile, perpetual funding rates for AIOZ turned positive, the first time in six weeks. The takeaway? Smart money is rotating, and you should be, too.
Inflows into decentralized exchanges increased by 14% week-over-week with a notable push from wallets associated with historically savvy ETH whales. One particular address tagged as an early YFI farmer moved $1.2M into PROVE, suggesting this latest jump isn’t retail froth alone. Meanwhile, whale alert bots picked up an 800,000 token dump of BCH to Binance—likely fueling the sell-off. The smart money appears to be shifting into the trend, not just chasing it.
This week wasn’t just about green vs. red—it was about quality vs. quantity. Builder-focused chains with talkative devs and real-world use cases are soaking up the liquidity, while older tokens with stagnating narratives are seeing outflows. If you’re still chasing memes or praying for forks, consider whether the juice is worth the squeeze. The market isn't irrational—it’s re-pricing relevance.
Welcome to this week’s edition of 'Whales and Whiplashes', where the crypto market is dancing with two left feet—agile one moment, clumsy the next. The overall sentiment is cautiously bullish, but the story diverges sharply between sectors. Top performers like PROVE, PI, and AIOZ are clocking impressive double-digit gains, while formerly stable names like BCH and CTC tumble in red. What’s causing this sharp divergence? Let’s dig in.
This week, we’re seeing a clear signal that markets are rotating back into builder tokens—projects with robust fundamentals and actual utility. PROVE catapulted a whopping 25.37%, off the back of chatter from dev blogs about a new whitepaper update focused on Layer 2 scalability features. Not far behind was PI, climbing 18.15%, fueled by buzz around their zero-knowledge proof module being audited by Trail of Bits.
AIOZ (16.99%) is riding the AI and edge computing wave, with investors eyeing its recent partnership with a decentralized CDN project. Meanwhile, KTA (16.65%) and AERO (15.52%) rounded out the top five, lifted by multi-chain DEX integrations that unlock liquidity routing across four major Layer 1s.
On the flip side, we have a string of underperformers, beginning with PUMP, which gave back 4.09%. Traders say its meme-fueled rally is finally losing air. ZBCN and REKT, down 3.58% and 3.40% respectively, are suffering from low liquidity and bearish tokenomics. Bitcoin Cash (BCH), once the poster child for early forks, slipped 2.82%, its worst showing in weeks. That drop followed a report highlighting declining merchant adoption rates—ouch. CTC also shaved off 2.40% as end-of-quarter token unlocks spooked long holders.
This week in the crypto echo chamber, devs reclaimed the spotlight. @defioverlord dropped threads explaining smart contract compression that got over 10K likes, while @airdropsahoy stirred a storm with rumors of an incoming snapshot for the soon-to-be-launched $PULSE token. Meanwhile, we witnessed an all-out governance drama within the MUSE DAO—where a whale's last-minute vote turned the tide on a 7-figure treasury grant. The key thread? While markets wobble, builder communities are staying battle-tested and shipping.
Looking beneath the candles, there's been an 11% increase in 24-hour trading volume on mid-cap alts, particularly in the DeFi and AI-focused segments. Market makers are reporting thinner spreads in PI and KTA, an indicator of improving liquidity. Options volume on BCH dipped 8%, showing that traders are stepping away from the underperformers. Meanwhile, perpetual funding rates for AIOZ turned positive, the first time in six weeks. The takeaway? Smart money is rotating, and you should be, too.
Inflows into decentralized exchanges increased by 14% week-over-week with a notable push from wallets associated with historically savvy ETH whales. One particular address tagged as an early YFI farmer moved $1.2M into PROVE, suggesting this latest jump isn’t retail froth alone. Meanwhile, whale alert bots picked up an 800,000 token dump of BCH to Binance—likely fueling the sell-off. The smart money appears to be shifting into the trend, not just chasing it.
This week wasn’t just about green vs. red—it was about quality vs. quantity. Builder-focused chains with talkative devs and real-world use cases are soaking up the liquidity, while older tokens with stagnating narratives are seeing outflows. If you’re still chasing memes or praying for forks, consider whether the juice is worth the squeeze. The market isn't irrational—it’s re-pricing relevance.
PROVE’s new whitepaper update and whale accumulation has turned the small-cap into this week’s headline hero. Don’t sleep on the dev chatter happening on-chain and on Twitter.
Watch for dev activity and meaningful protocol updates as a leading indicator of price action. Tokens not shipping will keep slipping.
Be sure to join us on Telegram, Discord and Twitter!
Quad Terminal simplifies crypto portfolio management by unifying digital asset exchanges into a seamless, all-in-one platform. Traders and investors of all skill levels can access automated bot strategies and a comprehensive 360° portfolio view. Create your free account here!
Disclaimer: The content of this article is for general market education and commentary and is not intended to serve as financial, investment, or any other type of advice.
Manage all your crypto assets on the go with zero-gas swaps and a unified portfolio at your fingertips.
Disclaimer: Information contained herein should not be construed as investment advice, or investment recommendation, or an order of, or solicitation for, any transactions in financial instruments; We make no warranty or representation, whether express or implied, as to the completeness or accuracy of the information contained herein or fitness thereof for a particular purpose. Use of images and symbols is made for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a particular financial instrument; Use of brand logos does not necessarily imply a contractual relationship between us and the entities owning the logos, nor does it represent an endorsement of any such entity by Quad Terminal, or vice versa. Market information is made available to you only as a service, and we do not endorse or approve it.
Copyright © Quad Terminal
