Crypto Market Surges as Bitcoin and Ethereum Rally; Small Cap Tokens Outperform

The cryptocurrency market is staging a broad, risk-on rally to start the week, with confidence flowing from market leaders like Bitcoin and Ethereum into more speculative small-cap altcoins. The total crypto market capitalization has climbed 4% to $3.57 trillion, supported by a “Greed” reading of 71 on the Fear & Greed Index and several positive fundamental developments.

Bitcoin (BTC) by 3.81% in the last 24 hours, maintaining its position at around $109,600. Ethereum (ETH), however, has outperformed with a significant 7.61% surge, currently trading at $2,678.

Besides the gains in large-cap tokens, smaller altcoins have posted impressive moves. Market-wide liquidations totaled $447.66 million, suggesting a wave of short position squeezes as prices moved higher. Moreover, the Altcoin Index remains subdued at 29/100, showing that there’s still significant headroom for smaller coins to catch up with majors.

While the majors posted solid gains, the most explosive action was seen in the small-cap segment, a classic sign of returning speculative appetite. Useless Coin (USELESS) stole the spotlight with a 127.7% gain over the past day. It now trades at with a market cap of approximately $30.9 million. This caps off a 7-day rally of 235.41%, driven by high community engagement and growing trading volume exceeding $15.4 million.

Similarly, LiquidLaunch (LIQD) posted a 47.6% daily increase, climbing to . Its market cap stands at $82.8 million, with momentum continuing to build over the past week (+119.40%).

Hosico Cat (HOSICO), a meme-driven asset, gained 44.8% in 24 hours to trade at . With a weekly gain of 36.79%, it joins the rising tide of speculative, community-fueled tokens making sharp moves.

Myria (MYRIA) and LABUBU SOL have also joined the rally. MYRIA jumped 42.5% to , while LABUBU gained 38% to , both benefiting from increased activity and trader speculation.

Among the top daily gainers, FartCoinOfSOL, Dogwifcoin, and AAVE have shown exceptional strength. This signals renewed interest in meme coins and DeFi protocols alike. In contrast, $WHITE, $LEO, and $AB continue their downward trajectory, underperforming the broader market recovery.

This broad market optimism is supported by several key fundamental developments. Nasdaq has filed to expand its crypto benchmark index, proposing to add major altcoins like XRP, SOL, ADA, and XLM, a move that could significantly increase their institutional visibility.

Additionally, Bitcoin-backed stablecoin platform Plasma Foundation has attracted $500 million in deposits, hinting at strong backing ahead of its token launch.

Strategy Inc., also bolstered its Bitcoin holdings, acquiring 1,045 BTC for $110.2 million at an average price of $105,426. This reinforces Bitcoin’s appeal as a long-term institutional asset.