Coin WorldSaturday, Jul 12, 2025 3:57 pm ET

1min read

In the past week, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization surged by 10%, rising from $3.4 trillion to $3.74 trillion. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, closed at approximately $117,200, marking an 8.5% increase. However, this price surge did not translate into a higher market share for Bitcoin. Instead, its dominance decreased from 63.71% to 57.85%, indicating a notable shift in investor interest towards alternative cryptocurrencies, or altcoins.

This shift was evident as a majority of the top 20 digital assets recorded double-digit gains. Ethereum (ETH), for instance, saw a 16.7% increase, closing around $2,930. This price level matched those seen in early February. XRP, another prominent altcoin, surged by 21.8% to close at $2.71, overtaking USDT to become the third-largest digital asset by market capitalization. Other top performers included Stellar (XLM) with a 62.9% gain, Cardano (ADA) with a 21.2% increase, Dogecoin (DOGE) with a 19.5% rise, and Sui (SUI) with a 15.8% gain. Notably, none of the top 20 digital assets ended the week in negative territory.

Beyond the top 20, several other digital assets posted impressive gains. Memecore led the pack with an over 800% increase, closing at $0.52. Kori followed with a 573% gain, and Manyu saw a 453% increase. HYPER and Graphite Protocol completed the top five gainers with increases of 361% and 115%, respectively. Despite the overall positive trend, a few digital assets experienced declines. Humanity saw the biggest drop of 45.6%, while TXX and SN declined by 44% and 41%, respectively. Among the top 100 digital assets, only BGB, OKB, and PI ended the week in the red, with decreases of 1.3%, 0.6%, and 0.2%, respectively.

The decline in Bitcoin's dominance suggests a growing appetite for risk among investors, who are increasingly turning to altcoins for potential high returns. This trend is supported by the Fear & Greed index, which currently stands at 67, indicating strong bullish sentiment in the market. The broad rally in altcoins further underscores this sentiment, as traders appear willing to chase momentum regardless of underlying fundamentals. As long as market sentiment remains bullish, this trend of seeking high-growth opportunities in the altcoin market is likely to continue.