TheBlock
XRP led a broad altcoin rally this week as Bitcoin booked its biggest weekly gain in two years, briefly topping $79,000 on Friday. XRP jumped 39%, crossing $1.40 for the first time in months, while Hyperliquid's HYPE token climbed 37% to a new all-time high near $78 after President Donald Trump said the CFTC is working to bring the onchain perps platform to the United States in a "fully compliant and legal fashion." Chainlink (LINK) and Zcash (ZEC) each added more than 30%, with Solana and Cardano posting sharp gains alongside a 24% to 28% climb for $BTC and $ETH. Spot and ETF demand is now driving the move, analysts said, with Bitcoin needing to hold above $70,000 to prove the rally can outlast this week's historic short squeeze.
Why it matters
The rally's breadth matters more than any single token's print. Iliya Kalchev at Nexo Dispatch noted that unlike recent weeks, when gains concentrated in a handful of idiosyncratic names, this surge spread across the sector, a pattern narrow rallies historically fail to sustain. Sygnum CIO Fabian Dori said institutional ETF inflows, an advancing regulatory framework, and sovereign-level interest leave the direction of travel toward mainstream adoption "increasingly well anchored," even as volatility cuts both ways.
Market impact
Trump's Wednesday comments pushed Hyperliquid further into the spotlight and added a US-policy catalyst to a week Bernstein pinned on the Treasury's expanded buyback program as a liquidity tailwind. MEXC Research disagreed, calling the rally premature and warning markets were giving the intervention too much credit. Kalchev flagged a regulatory backdrop "particularly favorable" to XRP as a likely driver of its outperformance, raising the open question of whether that edge persists or whether Friday's surge simply reflected the token catching up hardest to the broader wave.
Frequently asked questions
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How big was Bitcoin's weekly gain?
Bitcoin booked its biggest weekly rally in two years, briefly topping $79,000 on Friday. For the week, BTC and ETH both climbed between 24% and 28%, according to The Block's price data.
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What level does Bitcoin need to hold for the rally to continue?
Analysts said Bitcoin needs to hold above $70,000 to show the move can outlast this week's historic short squeeze and convert the squeeze into structural demand.
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Which altcoins led the rally?
XRP led with a 39% gain, crossing $1.40 for the first time in months. Hyperliquid's HYPE token climbed 37% to a new all-time high near $78, while Chainlink (LINK) and Zcash (ZEC) each gained more than 30%.
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Why did Hyperliquid's HYPE token surge?
HYPE rallied after President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the CFTC is working to bring the onchain perps trading platform to the United States in a "fully compliant and legal fashion."
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What are analysts saying drove the rally?
Analysts pointed to genuine spot and ETF demand and a favorable regulatory backdrop, with Bernstein flagging the Treasury's expanded buyback program as a liquidity catalyst. MEXC Research disagreed and called the move premature.
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