Crypto Market Tumbles Back Below $3 Trillion as Altcoins Outpace Bitcoin

The cryptocurrency market finished the week in positive territory, with total market capitalization increasing by 4% to nearly $3 trillion.

This milestone was briefly breached on Tuesday as Bitcoin and several altcoins reached multi-month highs, but the top cryptocurrency still ended the week up 4%.

Bitcoin Cash led the charge among high-cap altcoins, surging nearly 30% after CME announced plans to launch a $BCH perpetual futures contract in October. The asset consolidated above $330 to seal a 34% weekly gain.

Near protocol ($NEAR) also rose by 34%, from $4.16 at the start of the week to a peak of $5.48, coinciding with reports that Bitwise's spot $NEAR exchange-traded fund (ETF) cleared key regulatory hurdles.