The cryptocurrency market extended its recovery on Friday, with Ethereum leading major digital assets by a 5.4% gain while Bitcoin maintained its upward trajectory above $61,000. Smaller-cap tokens IKA and Metaplex posted triple-digit rallies, indicating that buying activity spread beyond the largest names.
Ethereum Outperforms; Bitcoin Steady Above $61k
Bitcoin (BTC) traded at $61,675.60, up 2.0% in 24 hours, with $37.39 billion in daily volume and a market cap of $1.24 trillion. The continued advance reinforced Bitcoin's market leader status while lifting sentiment across the sector.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 5.4% to $1,714.81, recording $13.59 billion in daily volume and a market cap of $206.95 billion. It emerged as the strongest performer among the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Binance Coin (BNB) rose 1.9% to $561.11; XRP climbed 4.0% to $1.10; Solana (SOL) added 3.9% to $80.96; and TRON (TRX) edged up 0.5% to $0.3185. All major coins posted positive daily returns.
Small-Cap Tokens Ignite: IKA, Metaplex Triple in Price
Among smaller-cap assets, Ika (IKA) surged 115.3% to $0.00396, with over $8.15 million in trading volume. Metaplex (MPLX) rallied 105.2% to $0.0417, attracting $12.52 million in daily volume—a sign of strong retail and speculative interest.
Talus (US) advanced 63.4%; Alien Worlds (TLM) jumped 55.3% on $139.15 million in volume. Allora (ALLO) rose 45.1% to $0.37, while Magma Finance (MAGMA), Nexus (NEX), and Velodrome Finance (VELO) gained 41.9%, 41.0%, and 32.0%, respectively.
The broader market closed on a positive note, with buying interest extending from Bitcoin and Ethereum into smaller tokens. The breadth of gains suggests that confidence in the crypto recovery is broadening beyond a few large-cap leaders.