Altcoins Outshine Majors as Crypto Posts First Meaningful Bounce of Selloff

Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies advanced following dovish signals from the Federal Reserve, with highly speculative altcoins such as Memecore’s M and Audiera’s BEAT leading gains across the market.

Smaller tokens outperformed as bitcoin BTC $61,838.15 and other large-cap assets extended Wednesday’s recovery. The CoinDesk 20 Index rose nearly 5% over 24 hours to a one-week high, with all components finishing the session in positive territory.

Memecore’s M jumped 81%, while Audiera’s BEAT gained 12%, ranking among the strongest performers within the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market value. Venice Token (VVV), in third place, climbed about 9%.

Bitcoin gained more than 4% to roughly $61,200, while ether (ETH) rose 5%. Solana’s SOL surged 9% after unveiling an on-chain governance framework requiring a minimum of 100,000 staked tokens to submit proposals. XRP also added close to 4%.

Marex analysts called the move the “first real bounce of the whole selloff,” pointing to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks in Sintra, where he said inflation risks had eased. They said the comments helped dial back expectations of a near-term rate hike and pushed BTC back above $60,000 for the first time in a week, with Solana emerging as a standout performer.

Investors are now looking ahead to key macro catalysts, including Thursday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report and upcoming policy developments such as President Donald Trump’s planned voluntary AI model standards.

Derivatives markets saw increased activity alongside the rally, with BTC, ETH, and other majors rising after dovish Fed commentary. Trading volume increased 18% to nearly $200 million, while open interest rose 4% to $107 million. Liquidations totaled $444.6 million, with shorts accounting for most of the unwind, reversing recent long-heavy liquidation trends.

Bitcoin open interest climbed to 777.87K BTC from 768K the previous day, the highest level since June 4. Rising prices alongside higher open interest typically signal strengthening momentum, suggesting the rebound may have additional room to extend.

Positive annualized funding rates near 10% and strong 24-hour cumulative volume delta readings further support a short-term bullish bias.

Ethereum, however, has yet to see a strong return of leveraged positioning, with futures open interest holding near 13.8 million tokens. XRP shows a similar pattern, while Solana futures activity has eased from recent highs, with open interest slipping to 72 million SOL from 76.6 million in late June.

On Binance, the three-month futures basis for BTC and ETH remains below the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield of 4.49%, suggesting limited arbitrage incentives and subdued institutional positioning, even as broader market conditions remain constructive.

Across major tokens, 24-hour open interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta remains positive, indicating aggressive buying via market orders rather than passive limit orders—a shift from recent selling pressure.

Implied volatility for BTC and ETH has also cooled after a late-June spike, a development often associated with stabilizing bullish trends as volatility typically moves inversely to spot prices.

Still, options markets remain cautious. Put options continue to trade at a premium to calls on Deribit, while OTC flows tracked by Paradigm show mixed sentiment—BTC saw demand for $57K puts, while ETH calls were actively accumulated across multiple strikes.

In ecosystem updates, Ethereum layer-2 network Taiko resumed operations of its cross-chain bridge following a $1.70 million exploit in July, after completing a multi-stage recovery process and independent security review.

The announcement briefly sent TAIKO surging more than 100% to $0.38 before it retraced to around $0.16, underscoring sharp volatility in smaller-cap tokens. With a market capitalization of roughly $32.5 million, TAIKO remains outside the top 500 cryptocurrencies, highlighting its elevated risk profile.