Solana Leads Altcoin Gains as XRP and Dogecoin Slide

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization hovered around $2.73 trillion at the end of the week, after fluctuating between $2.70 trillion and $2.79 trillion. Bitcoin recovered modestly, ending the week with a 1 % gain and keeping August’s overall rise above 20 %.

Bitcoin’s Mixed Momentum

Bitcoin briefly rose above $81,000 on Tuesday following a U.S. Treasury bond buyback announcement, then consolidated between $77,000 and $79,000. A second surge pushed the price back above $81,000 on Thursday, but the asset slipped below $77,000 around the time of Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech. By Saturday it had recovered to about $78,000.

Altcoin Divergence

Altcoins showed starkly contrasting performance. Solana (SOL) led gains after Charles Schwab announced it would add SOL, along with AVAX and LINK, to its accounts. Monero (XMR) rose from $425 to $463, and RAIN posted a 24 % weekly increase.

On the downside, XRP fell nearly 7 %, Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 7.2 %, and ADA, XLM and BCH each lost more than 10 %.

Market‑Cap Shifts

Despite the mixed asset moves, the combined market cap of altcoins grew about 4 %, rising from $1.13 trillion to $1.18 trillion over the week.

Macro Narrative

Industry observers noted Bitcoin’s parallel movement with gold, suggesting a broader reassessment of scarce assets rather than a simple hedge against fiat debasement.