The cryptocurrency market showed a mixed performance on Monday as early gains faded and selling pressure emerged, pushing the total market capitalization down 1.55% to $2.56 trillion. Despite the decline, 24-hour trading volume rose 1.26% to $66.43 billion, signaling active repositioning. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 39, firmly in “Fear” territory, reflecting waning confidence after an initial attempt to hold support levels.
Bitcoin (BTC) slipped 0.17% to $76,768.18, retreating from an intraday high near $77,164 where it had posted a 0.5% gain earlier in the day. Its market dominance remained elevated at 60.1%, underscoring its safe-haven status amid the unease. Ethereum (ETH) bucked the trend, rising 0.34% to $2,127.25, buoyed by sustained buying interest in large-cap assets; its dominance stood at 10.0%. Both assets had started the session on a positive note—ETH had climbed 1.2% earlier—but the broader sentiment shift trimmed those advances.
Select altcoins held firm. XRP maintained a strong presence near $1.39 with daily volume exceeding $1.8 billion and a market cap above $85 billion. Solana (SOL) advanced 0.9% to $85.32, while BNB ticked up 0.6% to $643.88. Dogecoin (DOGE) rose 0.5% to $0.1044, stabilizing after recent volatile swings.
In the small-cap arena, explosive moves captured traders’ attention. Early in the day, Greyhunt (HUNT) skyrocketed 616.6% to $24.98 on thin volume, and Ronin (RON) surged 28% with over $57 million in trading volume. Later, Gold Pump Meme (GPM) soared 1,618.5%, NOT (CAT) jumped 580.33%, and TRUMP MAGA (MAGA) rallied 487.97%, highlighting speculative appetite for micro-cap tokens.
DeFi total value locked (TVL) dipped 0.45% to $82.786 billion, though Lido remained the leader with a 0.31% gain to $18.826 billion. NFT sales volume inched up 0.67% to $7.76 million, led by the Courtyard collection’s 7.55% increase.
Among notable industry developments, the U.S. SEC is reportedly planning to allow crypto firms to trade tokenized stocks, a potential regulatory breakthrough. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) disclosed a $2 billion Bitcoin purchase, betting on a local bottom. Additionally, Bitwise announced it would allocate 10% of management fees from its $BHYP ETF to buy HYPE tokens, linking traditional fund structures to DeFi incentives.
