Crypto Bears Retreat as Bitcoin Holds $78,000; LSK, ARB, NEAR and ZEC Lead Altcoin Bounce
Key Takeaways
- •Bitcoin reclaimed $78,000 on Friday, marking three straight days of gains despite the CLARITY Act failing to pass Congress and the Federal Reserve delivering its first rate hike in more than three years.
- •Total crypto market capitalization climbed 2.55% to about $2.68 trillion, with Starknet, Arbitrum, Uniswap, Hyperliquid, Zcash, Solana and NEAR leading 24-hour gains.
- •Arbitrum's ARB has surged 167% over the past month, fueled by inflows of tokenized real-world assets into the Ethereum layer-2 network.
- •Zcash pushed toward $1,500 after a September 17 short squeeze wiped out $5635 million in bearish bets, while cumulative derivatives open interest rose almost 5% to $141.2 billion.
- •Bitcoin is down 1.5% this month but up roughly 32% for the quarter, and Kevin O'Leary said he is buying new positions for the next cycle while not expecting the CLARITY Act to pass before the midterms.
Altcoin holders caught a strong session on Friday as a market-wide bounce pushed major tokens into the green over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin reclaimed $78,000, brushing off the letdown from the CLARITY Act stalling in Congress and the Federal Reserve's rate hike.
BTC's return above the $78,000 level capped three straight days of gains, with most tokens in the top 100 by market capitalization also trading in the green over the last 24 hours. Per CoinMarketCap, the total market capitalization of the crypto sector climbed 2.55% to roughly $2.68 trillion.
Which tokens are leading the gains?
Standout performers over the past 24 hours included Starknet (STRK), Arbitrum (ARB), Uniswap (UNI), Hyperliquid (HYPE), Zcash (ZEC), Solana (SOL) and NEAR. On a one-week horizon, the highest gainers tracked by CoinMarketCap were Lisk (LSK), Arbitrum, GEODNET, NEAR, Zcash and Uniswap.
As Cryptopolitan reported earlier in the day, Arbitrum's ARB has been on a 167% run over the past month, riding high on momentum from tokenized real-world asset inflows — traditional financial instruments represented on blockchains — into the Ethereum layer-2 network. ZEC, meanwhile, pushed toward the $1,500 level after a September 17 short squeeze — a rapid rally that forces bearish traders to buy back positions to limit losses — wiped out $56.35 million in bearish bets and set up its latest climb.
Derivatives activity has backed the spot price move, with cumulative open interest — the total value of outstanding derivatives contracts — rising by almost 5% to $141.2 billion, per data shared on X.
Why the bears are backing off
The rally has come despite serious macro headwinds. The CLARITY Act, the crypto market-structure bill that would define US oversight of digital assets, failed to gather the votes it needed to pass through Congress on Tuesday, sending Bitcoin into a tailspin below $75,000. The Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan then piled on: the Fed delivered its first rate hike in more than three years, while the BOJ set its benchmark at its highest level in 31 years.
Against the historical backdrop of September being Bitcoin's weakest month, holding steady at -1.5% on the month and up about 32% for the quarter counts as a major win. CoinMarketCap's Market Pulse, shared via X, likewise described the market as standing strong amid the CLARITY Act headwind.
The analyst consensus now is that sellers are exhausted and the metaphorical bottom is already in.
The buying column has also regained a prominent returning participant. Kevin O'Leary told The Block at the Avalanche Summit that he is "back in the saddle buying new positions" for the next cycle, while cautioning that he does not expect the CLARITY Act to pass before the midterms.
