Crypto traders are rotating back into altcoins, lifting assets tied to decentralized finance, AI infrastructure and privacy. Injective (INJ) has attracted renewed attention through its proof-of-stake on-chain trading network, while Pearl (PEARL) is drawing interest around its blockchain-based decentralized computing model and Zcash (ZEC) continues to appeal to privacy-focused users with shielded transactions.
Zcash enters November with a concrete catalyst: the NU7 network upgrade is set to activate at block 3,543,405, likely during the first half of November. The upgrade cuts block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, but it also makes older version 4 transactions invalid. Users with outdated wallets or funds in the legacy Sprout pool are being urged to update before activation.
Hyperliquid (HYPE) is showing unusual relative strength. Over the past month it was the only gainer among the nine largest non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, advancing 5.7% while Bitcoin fell 6.2%. Momentum accelerated on October 29 with a 12.8% jump after Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, was reported to be planning an investment in trade[XYZ], with the goal of building a regulated U.S. perpetual futures market running on the Hyperliquid blockchain.
Ripple’s XRP also has a regulatory story. On October 26 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted final approval to Ripple National Trust Bank. Around the same time, BNY added XRP and the RLUSD stablecoin to a custody platform, and Moody’s assigned an investment-grade rating to RLUSD. Still, XRP traded near $1.23 after falling 17.5% over the previous 30 days, suggesting the market has not fully priced in the regulatory progress.
