The cryptocurrency market closed the week with a 4% gain, pushing total market capitalization from $2.87 trillion to $2.99 trillion. The market briefly breached the $3 trillion threshold on Tuesday before pulling back as bitcoin dropped from over $87,000 to $84,000 by Thursday.
Bitcoin ended the week up 4%, with its market cap falling below $1.7 trillion following the midweek pullback. Despite the recent volatility, bitcoin's price action increases the likelihood of a double-digit monthly gain with three days remaining in September.
Altcoins Lead Sector Momentum
While bitcoin posted modest gains, major altcoins surged 10% or more as investors rotated capital across the sector. Bitcoin cash led the rally, climbing 34% for the week after CME announced plans to launch a BCH perpetual futures contract in October. BCH peaked at $360 on September 23 before consolidating above $330.
NEAR protocol matched bitcoin cash's weekly performance, rising from $4.16 at the start of the week to a peak of $5.48. The gains coincided with reports that Bitwise's spot NEAR exchange-traded fund cleared key regulatory hurdles, with the ETF expected to launch around September 29. NEAR's year-to-date gains reached 250%.
Broad Rallies Across Major Assets
Other major altcoins posted double-digit weekly gains: solana up 12%, dogecoin up 12%, chainlink up 13%, XRP up 10%, and zcash up 11%. Total altcoin market capitalization expanded from $1.25 trillion to roughly $1.3 trillion over the week.
A few assets declined: Tron fell 2.6%, Hyperliquid dropped 1.1% to $91.71, Monero fell 2%, and rain lost 10%. Gold-backed digital assets tether gold and pax gold both declined 2%.
Market analysts point to sustained bullish momentum and a greed reading on the Crypto Fear and Greed Index as indicators supporting further upward movement that could eliminate bitcoin's year-to-date losses while driving top-performing altcoins to record highs.
