Bitcoin cash and NEAR lead altcoin rally as crypto market nears $3tn
Bitcoin.com News reports total crypto market cap rose 4% to $2.99tn, with bitcoin cash up 34% on CME futures news and NEAR up 34% on ETF progress.
Key points
- Total crypto market capitalisation rose 4% over the week, from $2.87tn on Sept. 20 to $2.99tn, briefly topping $3tn on Tuesday.
- Bitcoin cash gained 34% after CME announced plans for a BCH perpetual futures contract in October, peaking at $360 on Sept. 23.
- NEAR rose from $4.16 to a peak of $5.48 as Bitwise's spot NEAR ETF cleared regulatory hurdles, with a launch expected around Sept. 29.
- Bitcoin slipped from above $87,000 to $84,000 midweek but still ended the week up 4%, with its market cap below $1.7tn.
- Altcoin market cap expanded from $1.25tn to about $1.3tn, while tron, monero, Hyperliquid and RAIN closed the week lower.
The crypto market closed the week higher, with total capitalisation rising 4% from $2.87tn on Sept. 20 to $2.99tn, according to Bitcoin.com News. The market briefly crossed the $3tn mark on Tuesday as bitcoin and several altcoins hit multi-month highs, before slipping back below that level on Thursday.
Bitcoin itself pulled back from above $87,000 to $84,000 during the week, taking its market cap under $1.7tn. Even so, the largest cryptocurrency finished the week up 4% and moved closer to breaking even for the year. With three days left in September, Bitcoin.com News said the price action raises the odds of a double-digit monthly gain.
The strongest move came from bitcoin cash, which surged 34% after CME announced plans to launch a BCH perpetual futures contract in October. BCH topped out at $360 on Sept. 23 before consolidating above $330. The gain made it the week's standout performer as investors rotated capital into alternative assets.
Market nears $3tn milestone
NEAR matched that 34% weekly rise, climbing from $4.16 at the start of the week to a peak of $5.48. The move followed reports that Bitwise's spot NEAR exchange-traded fund had cleared key regulatory hurdles, potentially opening the token to brokerage-account and institutional buyers. The ETF is expected to launch around Sept. 29, and the news, alongside forced buybacks, pushed NEAR's weekly and year-to-date gains past 31% and 250%.
Gains were broad across large tokens. Zcash rose 11% to close above $1,600, while XRP added 10%, solana 12%, dogecoin 12% and chainlink 13%. A handful of coins ended lower: tron fell 2.6%, Hyperliquid closed 1.1% down at $91.71 days after a record $97.96, monero lost 2% and RAIN dropped 10%. Gold-backed tokens tether gold and pax gold each fell 2%.
Total altcoin market capitalisation expanded from $1.25tn to roughly $1.3tn over the week. Bitcoin.com News reported that analysts, citing sustained momentum and a greed reading on the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, expect another upward leg that would erase bitcoin's year-to-date losses and lift top altcoins to record highs.
Bitcoin cash and NEAR surge
The rotation into altcoins came even as bitcoin's own advance stayed modest. That divergence, driven by product news such as the CME contract and the Bitwise ETF, is what shaped the week's standout gains.