Bitcoin Stagnates as Altcoins Thrive on Catalysts
Bitcoin traded flat on Tuesday while altcoins Hyperliquid, Zcash, and Ethena outperformed the apex cryptocurrency. The rally in altcoins came amid token-specific developments, including regulatory talks and a new exchange-traded fund launch.
HYPE's price rose after Bloomberg reported that Hyperliquid Labs was negotiating with Payward to provide perpetual futures to U.S. traders. This development gave registered users of Bitnomial exchange access to a subset of perpetual futures tied to Hyperliquid's markets.
Zcash continued its rally from the prior week, boosted by Grayscale's launch of the first U.S. spot Zcash exchange-traded fund on NYSE. The token traded at $855 at the time of writing, marking its best month since October 2025.
Ethena also rose after Ethena Labs launched the beta of Ethena Pay, a self-custodial money app built on Avalanche (AVAX). The app integrated Ethena's USDe stablecoin and gave users up to 6% annual yield on balances along with up to 10% cashback at select brands for top-tier members.
Bitcoin's price rose by 0.3% in the last 24 hours, trading at $78,229. However, September rate hike odds now sit at nearly 62%, according to market maker Wintermute, following Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole keynote.