The global crypto market reached a $2.76 trillion capitalization on May 6, posting a 1% gain over the past 24 hours. Total trading volume came in at $101.69 billion. Bitcoin kept a firm hold on market share at 58.7%, while Ethereum accounted for 10.3%, showing that broad market strength remained modest even as selected altcoins moved sharply higher.
Among large assets, Bitcoin traded at $81,068.57, up 1.22% in 24 hours, with volume of $40 billion and a market cap of $1.62 trillion. Ethereum changed hands at $2,365.74, up 0.45%, with $17.92 billion in trading volume and a capitalization of $285.53 billion.
Zcash and Toncoin lead the day’s strongest moves
Altcoin action was mixed, but several names posted outsized gains. Zcash stood out at $515.08, rising 21.42% with $1.26 billion in trading volume. Toncoin climbed to $2.04, up 14.51%, on volume of $1.02 billion. Internet Computer added 14.46%, Terra Classic rose 14.56%, and Pudgy Penguins gained 8.41%.
By 24-hour percentage gain, MemeCore led with a 30.81% jump, followed by Zcash at 20.95% and BUILDon at 20.78%. Losses were limited in comparison: SIREN fell 2.46%, SKY slipped 2.06%, and POL edged down 0.44%. The picture was selective, not broad-based.
Stablecoins stay flat while DeFi outperforms
Stablecoins posted a small 0.1% increase over the last day, bringing sector capitalization to $317.3 billion with trading volume of $86.9 billion. DeFi performed better, rising 2.9% to a market cap of $56.88 billion. DeFi trading volume was reported at $4 billion, and its global market dominance stood at 2.1%.
Sentiment softened. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 46, classified as fear, from 50 a day earlier. That is still above last week’s 26 and well above last month’s extreme fear reading of 13, but it shows that price gains have not yet translated into stronger conviction.
Institutional moves and infrastructure updates shape the backdrop
Multicoin Capital has built a large Zcash position since February 2026, citing rising demand for privacy-focused assets. ZEC has surged 177% from its lows, recently moved above $550, and was trading near $511 in the latest update.
Kelp DAO said it will migrate rsETH infrastructure to Chainlink CCIP after a LayerZero-linked exploit led to $300 million in losses. Strategy Inc. disclosed holdings of 818,334 BTC, up 22% this year. The company also reported $124.3 million in revenue growth, while posting a $12.54 billion net loss tied to Bitcoin price fluctuations.
Other developments pointed to ongoing institutional buildout. Anchorage Digital is testing a cashless reserve model on Solana using yield-generating assets in place of cash. Tokenized U.S. Treasury assets on Ethereum reached a market cap of $8 billion, doubling in six months. a16z Crypto promoted Eddy Lazzarin to General Partner. Ondo Perps plans to support tokenized stocks and stablecoins as unified collateral, Ledger added Hyperliquid perpetual futures through Yield.xyz, and SoFi said it plans to launch SoFiUSD on Solana to expand its Ethereum-based stablecoin settlement service.
Compared with the May 5 market update, total crypto capitalization rose from $2.73 trillion to $2.76 trillion, while trading volume moved lower and sentiment weakened from neutral to fear. Prices improved, but market appetite remained restrained.