- The altcoin market cap amassed an additional $180 billion, partly due to increasing investor interest and rotation away from major caps like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink saw gains exceeding 25% weekly due to rising on-chain activity, enterprise adoption, and overall Expansion within their ecosystems.
- Meme coin PEPE and Layer-2 token STRK also surpassed expectations, indicating an increased appetite for speculative assets in these early phases of altcoin season.
Over the last week, the overall market capitalization of the cryptocurrency world has increased by more than $180 billion, which is one of the strongest altcoin rallies of 2025. The cause of the rally is new investor confidence, increased trading volumes, and rotation out of Bitcoin and into high-potential altcoins as Bitcoin trades above key psychological support levels. Five of the spotlight coins—Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), Chainlink (LINK), Starknet (STRK), and Pepe (PEPE)—were gold-star coins in the breakout, with each recording phenomenal weekly performance, suggesting the potential start of a new prolonged altcoin season.
Solana (SOL) Shows New Resilience as Activity Reaches New All-Time High
Solana’s price has increased by more than 22% in the last week after significant spikes in daily active addresses and total value locked.
The rally has occurred amid new capital inflows and developer activity, helping to renew SOL as a unique altcoin with unmatched ecosystem growth this month.
Market analysts have asserted that its improving fundamentals may even be appealing to more institutional investors as its momentum continues through the third quarter of 2025.
Avalanche (AVAX) Surges on DeFi Demand and Subnet Expansion Strategy
Avalanche saw a 27% weekly gain, supported by growing adoption of its subnet architecture and robust DeFi volume increases. Its fast transaction speeds and scalability are being viewed as superior to those of competitors, attracting developers who are launching innovative Web3 apps on AVAX. This trend positions Avalanche as a profitable Layer-1 solution during the current altcoin season, with continued upside potential.
Chainlink (LINK) Breaks Resistance After Major Oracle Integration Announcements
Chainlink’s price soared by nearly 26% after reports of major enterprise oracle integrations in Asia and the Middle East emerged.
Its growing relevance in real-world data applications is enhancing LINK’s groundbreaking role in DeFi and traditional finance interoperability projects.
Such traction cements LINK as a revolutionary asset leading this latest crypto market recovery.
Starknet (STRK) Surges on Ethereum Scaling Excitement and Airdrop Rumors
Starknet gained more than 30% over the past week amid excitement around Layer-2 scaling and renewed speculation on airdrops. The project’s unique ZK-rollup architecture is regarded as exceptional and helps Ethereum scale with privacy and speed. Investors are now looking at STRK as a compelling token with a growing developer ecosystem and future use-case potential as Ethereum networks become more congested.
Pepe (PEPE) Outperforms in Meme Sector as Community-Driven Momentum Returns
Pepe posted a 33% rally, becoming the top-performing meme coin of the week amid increased speculative volume and social media buzz.
Despite volatility, PEPE is reclaiming status as an outstanding meme asset, backed by a resilient community and broader altcoin revival.
The surge highlights how low-cap meme coins can deliver profitable returns in short windows during bull market rotations.
