The broader crypto market, now spanning 17,841 active currencies with a combined capitalization of $2.302 trillion, spent the week pulled in opposite directions. Geopolitical tensions and a string of DeFi exploits weighed on sentiment even as Bitcoin dominance held steady at 56.44%, and a handful of altcoins still managed to post outsized gains as capital rotated into selective narratives.
Audiera and Shiba Inu Lead the Gainers
Audiera (BEAT) was the week's standout performer, rallying roughly 50% after two consecutive weeks of declines. The token broke above $3.60 resistance and pushed toward the $4.00 psychological level. Its Relative Strength Index climbed without yet reaching overbought territory, a pattern traders typically read as room for the rally to extend, with the next resistance band sitting between $4.50 and $5.00 if buying pressure holds.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) posted the second-best weekly performance, gaining nearly 35% in what traders described as its strongest rally since November 2024. Unlike a purely speculative spike, the move was underpinned by tangible activity: roughly 280 million SHIB tokens were burned during the week while whale wallets stepped up accumulation. SHIB is now testing the $0.000026 to $0.000027 resistance zone, a range last seen in early May.
Venice Token (VVV) rounded out the top gainers with a steadier 9% weekly climb, extending a two-week rally that now totals nearly 30%. Rather than a single volatile spike, VVV's advance has come from what analysts characterized as consistent buying pressure, positioning the token to test $15 resistance if the momentum persists. Further down the leaderboard, Score (SN44) posted an eye-catching 3,988% surge, Pons (PONS) gained 179%, and Euler (EUL) climbed 135%.
Related: PEPE Eyes Breakout as 12% Rally Tests Key Resistance Wall
DeXe Craters Nearly 90% After DeFi Hacks
The week's biggest casualty was DeXe (DEXE), which crashed close to 90% after three separate DeFi hacks triggered panic selling across protocols perceived as exposed to similar risk. The token gave back months of rally gains, falling toward early Q1 levels near $1.50 before consolidating around $3.50, with a deeply oversold RSI reading suggesting the sell-off may be nearing capitulation.
Midnight (NIGHT) also struggled, declining 26.7% and extending a pattern of lower highs and lower lows across three consecutive weeks. The token is now trading below $0.002, and its RSI remains elevated enough to suggest selling pressure hasn't fully dissipated.
Zcash Cools After a Sharp Run-Up
Zcash (ZEC) slipped 10.16% this week, a pullback that follows a nearly 40% rally in late June and early July that had briefly reclaimed the $500 level. Analysts framed the retreat as a healthy cooldown driven by profit-taking rather than a structural breakdown, leaving ZEC positioned for a potential recovery if broader market sentiment improves. Other notable decliners included BitMart (BMX), down 64.9%, Starpower (STAR), down 38.5%, and Up (UP), down 36.6%.
Technical readings across the week's biggest gainers pointed to "room for the rally to extend" rather than exhaustion, while the deeply oversold conditions in DEXE suggested capitulation selling may be running its course.
Taken together, the week underscores how unevenly capital is moving through the altcoin market right now — utility and burn-driven tokens like BEAT and SHIB attracting steady inflows, while DeFi-adjacent names remain vulnerable to contagion from exploits elsewhere in the sector.
