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Ether, Solana, BNB Outshine Bitcoin as Cryptos Rebound
BTC only mounted a modest bounce from the overnight lows, while BNB hit a new record high and ETH, SOL rebounded 6%-7%.
Aug 20, 2025, 10:06 p.m.
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What to know:
- Major altcoins like BNB, ETH and SOL outperformed bitcoin, showing resilience despite weakening risk appetite.
- Bitcoin's market dominance is on the brink of falling to a fresh six-month low, indicating a shift towards altcoins.
- An altcoin season could be "brewing," but it will be more selective than past cycles, ByteTree analysts said.
A group of major altcoins have bounced stronger than bitcoin on Wednesday, showing relative strength despite a weakening risk appetite in broader capital markets.
BNB , the native token of the BNB Chain and closely adjacent to crypto exchange giant Binance, surged 6% to a fresh all-time high of $875.
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Ethereum's ether rebounded 7% from the overnight lows to $4,350, erasing all of Tuesday's losses. Some observers speculated that ETH treasury firms buying the asset could have fueled the rally.
Solana's SOL gained 6.1%, also outpacing yesterday's decline, while tokens of ChainLink and AAVE were up 10% and 7%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the leading crypto BTC advanced a modest 1.4% from the lows, changing hands at just above $114,000. Major stock indexes, the S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq, closed 0.2% and 0.5% lower.
While it might be too early to call for any bottom with rocky next few days and weeks ahead on the macro front, the relative strength of altcoins versus bitcoin is notable during a risk-off period.
Bitcoin's dominance, measuring the largest crypto's market share in the total market capitalization of digital assets, is on the brink of making a fresh six-month low, signaling that smaller, riskier tokens are taking leadership in market gains, often dubbed as "altcoin season."
Still, hopes for repeating past cycles' breakneck altcoin action might be unrealistic, ByteTree analysts led by Shehriyar Ali and Charlie Morris noted.
"An alt season may be brewing, but it will not look like the wild rallies of the past," the report said. "Instead, it will be defined by selective, fundamentals-driven growth, rewarding quality projects and penalising those without substance."
Read more: Hawkish FOMC Minutes Knocks Legs Out of Crypto Bounce
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