The cryptocurrency market presented a split picture on Thursday, with Bitcoin consolidating around $81,000 after a choppy week while Toncoin (TON) extended a parabolic rally driven by Telegram’s decision to restructure its network validation. Bitcoin traded slightly lower at $81,262, a 0.7% decline on the day, following a roller-coaster ride that began after last week’s FOMC meeting. The Federal Reserve’s widely expected rate hold initially triggered a dip below $75,000, but the flagship crypto rebounded on Friday after a peace proposal was sent from Tehran to Washington. Although both the first and a subsequent Sunday proposal were rejected, Bitcoin held above $78,000, and bulls pushed it to a three-month peak above $80,000 on Monday. By midweek, it tagged nearly $83,000 before a correction found support at $80,800, leaving it just above $81,500 with a market capitalization of $1.635 trillion and dominance over 58.5%.
While large-cap altcoins showed mixed performance—Ethereum lost 2.1% to $2,337, XRP slipped 1.6% to $1.42, and Dogecoin shed 4% to $0.1117—BNB, Solana, and Tron managed modest gains. The real fireworks, however, came from Toncoin. After Telegram announced it would replace the TON Foundation as the network’s largest validator and slash fees by up to six times, TON exploded 30% in the past 24 hours, bringing its weekly gain to over 120%. The move, seen by some as a step toward centralization, was embraced by traders who sent volume soaring.
Elsewhere, a speculative frenzy gripped lower-cap tokens. B3 (B3) skyrocketed 226.3% with $293 million in volume, CommonWealth (CWU) surged 167.6%, DOGS rallied 61.1%, and several others like SIREN, LAB, and Gigachad posted double- or triple-digit runs. The total crypto market cap remained just under $2.8 trillion, underscoring a day of stark divergence between weakening majors and explosive small-cap action.
