Altcoins Outperform Bitcoin as Precious Metals Rally Grabs Attention
Altcoins outpaced bitcoin in quiet Sunday trading as BTC remained range-bound near $88,000, while a historic surge in precious metals kept macroeconomic concerns in focus.
As of 10:35 a.m. UTC, total crypto market capitalization stood at $3.06 trillion, up 0.8% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin (BTC) rose 0.5% to $87,872, and ether (ETH) gained 0.5% to $2,939. Among major altcoins, XRP climbed 1.1%, Solana (SOL) advanced 1.3% to $123.28, and Dogecoin (DOGE) rose 1.3%, all outperforming BTC and ETH.
TradingView data from Bitstamp showed bitcoin moving in a tight $87,500–$87,900 range. After an early dip, BTC found support near $87,500 and rebounded toward the top of the band. Upward moves met resistance, while pullbacks were shallow, consistent with weekend consolidation in low liquidity conditions.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe noted on X that BTC remains trapped between $86,500 and $90,000. A retest of the lower end could weaken support, with $83,000 and $80,000 as potential downside targets. On the upside, a move above $90,000 and the 20-day moving average could open the path toward $105,000.
On-chain metrics
Glassnode shows BTC trading near the active investors’ mean at $87,700, below the short-term holder cost basis of $99,900. The true market mean sits at $81,100, while the realized price is $56,200—key reference points for medium- and long-term valuation.
Macro context
Precious metals continued to attract attention. Silver has surged roughly 155% year-to-date, briefly becoming the world’s third-largest asset by market capitalization, while gold rose about 72% in 2025.
Fred Krueger, author of The Big Bitcoin Book, observed that silver lacks bitcoin’s network effects and could fall sharply as narratives fade, with some investors potentially questioning why they did not hold BTC instead.
