Altcoins this week: Ethereum leads with +8%, Solana and Hyperliquid in the red

Over the past week, the altcoin market showed mixed performance: Ethereum outpaced every other major coin with an 8% gain, while Solana and Hyperliquid slipped into the red. Bitcoin added 2.4% over the same period — meaning ETH outgrew even bitcoin itself.

Weekly Performance by Coin

• Ethereum (ETH) — +8%, the best result among major coins
• Bitcoin (BTC) — +2.4%
• BNB — +1.4%
• XRP — +1.6%
• Solana (SOL) — −1.8%
• Hyperliquid (HYPE) — −3.5%, the worst result among major coins

What Drove Ethereum

ETH's outperformance is mainly tied to the launch of Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer-2 that went live on July 1. Over the past week, the amount of ETH bridged from the mainnet to that L2 topped $164 million — a 10x increase. At the same time, institutional capital returned to Ethereum: net inflows into ETH products totaled $96 million over the past three days.

What's Happening With the Rest

BNB is gaining on its own news — tokenized asset value on the BNB Chain hit a record $16.6 billion, which is keeping interest in the ecosystem elevated. XRP and Solana, despite modest or negative price moves, continue to attract institutional capital through their own spot ETFs: XRP-focused ETFs alone have pulled in roughly $1.25 billion in net inflows since their November 2025 launch — meaning institutional demand and short-term price action are currently diverging.

What the Altcoin Season Index Shows

By independent estimates, the altcoin season index held in the 39-57 range over the week — meaning the market remains in neutral or "Bitcoin season" territory, not a full-blown altcoin season. CryptoPulse.media's own live index reading is available on the Altcoin Season Index page.

What This Means in Practice

The divergence between individual coins shows the market right now is being driven more by project-specific catalysts — L2 launches, ecosystem upgrades, ETF inflows — than by one broad rising tide lifting every altcoin at once. That's exactly why a broad bet "on altcoins in general" looks less compelling right now than analyzing the specific reasons behind each coin's individual move.

This material is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.