Bitcoin News Today: Altcoin Market Cap Surges 40% to $1.34 Trillion, SUI and ARB Lead Gains

The total crypto market cap excluding Bitcoin (TOTAL2) has reached $1.34 trillion, its highest level since April, indicating that the altcoin season is in full swing. This surge in market cap is accompanied by a significant increase in volume over the past week, with prices well above all major EMAs (20/50/100/200), suggesting sustained momentum. This environment sets the stage for aggressive rotation into mid-cap and high-utility altcoins.

Bitcoin's short-term dominance has decreased by 60% from 63% in the past week, which is favorable for altcoins. Ethereum has regained strength above $3,000, reaching its 5-month high, and the ETH/BTC ratio is showing a reversal, typically signaling the start of “alt season.” With capital rotating into smaller caps, several altcoins are now flashing bullish technical setups, backed by real usage, new partnerships, and rising token velocity.

Sui (SUI) is emerging as a clear winner in this altcoin cycle. The protocol’s Total Value Locked (TVL) hit a new all-time high of $2.326 billion as of July 16, 2025. The surge in net inflows, with $1.57 million on July 15 alone, indicates strong conviction from capital allocators. This momentum is driven by a recent partnership with Google Cloud to bring AI-powered tooling to Web3 builders, with institutional validators like HSBC and DBS participating in consensus. From a technical perspective, SUI Coin has completed a clean breakout above the $3.20–$3.40 zone and touched the $4.00 mark, which it struggled to reach over the past two months. The daily chart shows strong bullish candles, with volume expanding and no immediate signs of exhaustion. Traders are now watching the psychological $5.00/SUI level as the next probable target.

Arbitrum (ARB) has seen its Timeboost system, launched in April 2025, pull in over $2 million in fees. This system lets users bid for faster transaction inclusion and now powers nearly a third of all DEX trades on Arbitrum. It is curbing congestion and front-running risks while bringing sustainable revenue back into the ecosystem. With 3.5 billion ARB tokens in the DAO treasury, worth approximately $1.3 billion, this new revenue stream makes Arbitrum a self-sustaining ecosystem with real economic value flowing through its governance structure. On the technical front, ARB is showing early signs of strength after retesting the $0.414–$0.420 zone. With the current bounce, bulls are now eyeing the $0.460 resistance as the next hurdle. If broken, we could see an extended move toward $0.483 or higher. Recent ecosystem stats show a spike in fee revenue and developer deployment, with ARB breaking out from consolidation with room to run toward $1.40–$1.60, especially as institutional adoption continues to grow.

Avalanche (AVAX) recently made headlines as FIFA officially selected it to power the FIFA+ collectibles platform, replacing Algorand. This move positions AVAX as a go-to chain for large-scale consumer applications and digital assets. On the infrastructure side, Avalanche continues expanding its subnet architecture with “Avalanche 9000,” giving developers more freedom to launch custom, high-performance chains. On the charts, AVAX has pushed through the $20.36 barrier and is currently testing the $22.30 zone. Just above sits the 100 EMA at $23.15, which now acts as resistance. If bulls can flip this level, the next major target lies near $25.60.

Hedera (HBAR) is building bullish momentum across both fundamentals and technicals. Grayscale’s recent inclusion of HBAR in its Smart Contract Platform Fund, replacing Polkadot, alongside stablecoin pilots by banks like Shinhan and Standard Bank, is fueling renewed institutional interest. On-chain USDC activity is steadily rising, and the number of exchanges supporting HBAR has expanded throughout Q2. Technically, HBAR Coin broke above the $0.22 zone and briefly tagged $0.25 in mid-July, continuing its sharp upward trajectory from earlier this month. The RSI is hovering near 78, slightly overheated but still a healthy sign of strength, while MACD histogram bars continue to rise, suggesting the trend still has fuel. If it maintains above $0.23, the path toward $0.28–$0.30 remains open.

Chainlink (LINK) remains the dominant oracle solution and has deepened its institutional role in 2025. It now powers interoperability for tokenized funds across thousands of banks via Project Guardian and recently launched its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) on Hedera. On-chain data shows LINK usage spiking, and while the token is still well below its 2021 highs, accumulation by whales and fund managers points to a quiet buildup phase. If tokenized RWAs and cross-chain DeFi continue expanding, LINK is poised to benefit directly.