Traders shift capital into altcoins, driving Solana memes, Polygon, gains above BTC returns

As of January 10, trading volume data shows that altcoins now account for more than 50% of all cryptocurrency trading activity. The trading volume of altcoins has surpassed the combined share of Bitcoin at 27% and Ethereum at 23%.

On-chain data from CoinMarketCap indicate that altcoins are currently outperforming Bitcoin in the short term. The change suggests that traders are shifting toward riskier assets in an effort to increase profits.

Altcoins rally as high-beta tokens outperform Bitcoin

Altcoins have experienced significant market gains over the past month. Ripple’s UK FCA registration drove XRP to a 5.01% weekly gain. XRP is currently trading at $2.09, representing a 4.52% increase from the previous month. The digital asset has a 24-hour trading volume of $3.02 billion, down 25.06%.

Solana-based memecoins, such as WHITEWHALE, gained 250% despite record DEX volumes. Currently, the WHITEWHALE memecoin is trading at $0.1459, up 17,354.97% in the last month. The memecoin has a 24-hour trading volume of $45.77 million, which is up 32.92%. 

Additionally, BONK memecoin recorded a 28% weekly increase, and SHIB reached a 15% rise, capturing speculative interest.

Binance ecosystem tokens, such as BNB, performed better last week, driven by news of the company’s expansion in Asia. On-chain data from CoinGecko show that BNB is currently trading at $902.51, up 1.4% in the last 24 hours and 3.4% in the previous seven days, and outperforming the broader crypto market’s 0.35% dip.

High-beta alternatives are attracting capital due to regulatory clarity and the memecoin frenzy.

Polygon (POL) had a weekly increase of 52.4%, following the introduction of its Open Money Stack for fiat-crypto transactions.  The framework is designed to help financial institutions and fintech businesses move money on-chain more efficiently by providing a comprehensive yet adaptable system for payments and settlements. 

In the last 24 hours, Polygon’s price increased by 2.78% to 0.21. Its trading volume increased by 144.94% to $1.27 million.

Other high-beta tokens also gained, highlighting strong speculative interest across DeFi markets.

DeFi aggregator Beefy (BIFI) saw a gain of 29.7% in the last seven days. This demonstrated sector movement into utility-driven alternatives, in contrast to Bitcoin’s +1.11% weekly return.

 BIFI is currently trading at $193.20, representing a 9.1% increase over the previous 24 hours. The DeFi aggregator reached a 24-hour trading volume of $43,804,596.

Altcoin momentum rises amid Ethereum liquidity strains

According to data from CoinMarketCap, the CMC Altcoin Season Index increased to 38/100 (from 27 the previous week), indicating rising altcoin momentum but remaining in neutral territory, while Bitcoin dominance remained at 58.51%. 

Capital rotation into alternative assets is reflected in this change, with ASI’s 37% weekly increase representing the quickest improvement since September 2025.

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at approximately $90,534.18, representing a 0.6% increase over the last day. Despite the rise, momentum is still muted. The Fear and Greed Index is at 41 (Neutral), a rise from 38 last week and 30 last month. 

BTC is also trading below its 200-day simple moving average and is down approximately 7% year-over-year.

The market cap dominance of Ethereum dropped to 12.05%, down 0.71% month-over-month.

In the midst of constant Bitcoin prices in $89–$94K range, traders are pursuing higher-beta trades. Ethereum remains the liquidity anchor for alternative markets, even as it controls liquidity and potentially restricts its own growth. Its 24-hour volume of $15.24 billion still surpasses Solana’s $2.1 billion. 

Ethereum is currently trading at $3,087.74, representing a 3.85% decrease from last month.

On January 9, SoSoValue data revealed that there were $93.82 million in net withdrawals from U.S. spot ETH ETFs, marking the third consecutive day. Grayscale’s ETHE lost an additional $10 million, while BlackRock’s ETHA led exits (-$84.69 million).

Early investors are collecting profits following ETH’s 113% recovery from its April 2025 lows. Price discovery is hindered by the $17.91 billion ETF AUM, which remains 7.6% below its December peak.

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