Bitcoin's biggest weekly rally in two years has fueled a broader surge across crypto markets, with XRP jumping nearly 40% and altcoins including Hyperliquid, Zcash and Chainlink each gaining more than 30% as bitcoin briefly topped $79,000 on Friday.
"Unlike recent weeks, when gains were concentrated in a handful of idiosyncratic names, this rally has been genuinely broad-based across the sector — which is itself a signal, since narrow rallies tend to be the ones that don't last," Iliya Kalchev, Nexo Dispatch analyst, said Friday in an email.
Analysts say bitcoin's move is being supported by genuine spot and ETF demand, but (BTC) would need to hold above $70,000 to show the rally can outlast this week's historic short squeeze.
Analysts remain divided over what initially sparked the move.
Bernstein pointed to the Treasury's expanded buyback program as a liquidity catalyst, while MEXC Research argued that markets were giving the intervention too much credit and called the rally " premature." Kalchev noted that XRP (XRP) was the standout performer over the past few days, crossing $1.40 for the first time in months.
