Altcoin Surge: $2.8 Trillion Market Cap Boosted by Zcash and Other Movers

The total crypto market cap has reached $2.8 trillion, up 3.9% in the past 24 hours, as Bitcoin surged roughly 5% to break above $81,000. This triggered a wave of short liquidations across the market, with over $140 million in crypto shorts wiped out within 60 minutes.

The bigger story today is how far altcoins are outpacing Bitcoin's move. Zcash led the pack, surging 17.7% in 24 hours and 20% over the week to trade at $943.48. Other notable movers include XRP, up 10%, Solana at 6.3%, Cardano with a 12.7% gain, and Dogecoin rising 9.6%. BNB and Chainlink both rose more than 5.8%, while Hyperliquid added 4.4%.

Crypto trader Michaël van de Poppe pointed to a pattern where momentum tends to rotate into altcoins when Bitcoin stalls within a range. With Bitcoin now breaking decisively higher, that rotation appears to be accelerating rather than pausing.