Here’s Why Crypto is up Today: Altcoin Season Hopes Spark New Momentum 

Crypto prices jumped again today as Ethereum’s tech upgrades, altcoin breakouts, and rising leverage fueled fresh momentum.

Investors are rotating out of Bitcoin and into ETH and smaller coins, pushing the market higher for a seventh straight day.

Crypto markets are flashing green as capital flows toward Ethereum and mid-cap altcoins. A 1.96% daily gain pushed the 7-day advance to 6.28%, powered by technical upgrades, sector rotation, and growing leveraged trades.

Ethereum leads as upgrades attract big money

Ethereum isn’t just rising—it’s pulling in serious institutional interest. Over the past day, ETH’s market cap surged by 3.65%. The protocol’s zkEVM roadmap now targets ultra-fast block finality under 10 seconds by 2026.

Traders aren’t the only ones excited. ETH ETFs reached $15.72 billion in assets under management, jumping 30% month-over-month. Whales bought over $260 million worth of ETH last week, betting on long-term scalability.

Ethereum also supports over half the world’s stablecoins. Its next major upgrade, Pectra, set for Q4 2025, will slash validator requirements to 1 ETH—potentially bringing millions of new stakers.

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Altcoins wake up as Bitcoin dominance fades

Bitcoin’s grip on market dominance is slipping. It dropped to 59.98% this week, down 1.3% from last week’s level. That’s a green light for altcoins to shine.

ETH jumped 25.6% over the past seven days. Chainlink gained 26.85%, while Conflux exploded 197.9% in one month—thanks to China’s RMB stablecoin pilot. Risk appetite is returning fast, especially with new U.S. crypto laws like the GENIUS Act backing the altcoin narrative.

Derivatives build pressure as leverage ramps up
The derivatives market is heating up. Open interest on perpetuals rose 7.78% in one day, hitting $815.6 billion. Bitcoin liquidations hit $35.34 million—mostly longs—signaling traders are overextending.

Funding rates spiked 15.83%, reaching 0.0123% in 24 hours. The long-to-short liquidation ratio sits at 0.92, pointing to squeezed leverage on both sides. If momentum breaks, volatility could snap back hard.

Kosta Gushterov

Kosta has been working in the crypto industry for over 4 years. He strives to present different perspectives on a given topic and enjoys the sector for its transparency and dynamism. In his work, he focuses on balanced coverage of events and developments in the crypto space, providing information to his readers from a neutral perspective.