Altcoins HYPE, WLFI, and ENA are Soaring as Bitcoin Cools

In brief

ENA is up 7.3% as analysts cite demand for its “stablecoin-driven model and yield mechanics” in DeFi.
The Trump family-linked WLFI token has surged 36% since its November 21 low.
Experts say this is a selective rotation into altcoins with real utility, not a broad “altseason.”

While Bitcoin consolidates its recent gains, select altcoins with strong narratives are breaking out, with coins like World Liberty Financial and Ethena outpacing the broader market.

Ethena is up 7.3% over 24 hours, while Bittensor and Quant are up between 5% and 7%, according to CoinGecko data.

The Trump family-linked WLFI has shown strong, steady performance, up 36% since its November 21 low of $0.11, highlighting intense, focused demand in an otherwise cautious market.

This limited altcoin revival is occurring as Bitcoin shows stability in the wake of recent volatility.

Bitcoin’s price is up 5.6% from last Friday’s $82,100 bottom, a bounce attributed to a sharp repricing of Federal Reserve policy. The odds of a December rate cut have spiked from roughly 30% a week ago to over 80% today, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

On Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, the chances of a 25bps December rate cut have jumped from 82% to 86% in the last day.

Selective risk-taking

“Capital rotation is happening, but selectively—and only projects with real utility, strong fundamentals, or innovative tokenomics are likely to see meaningful upside in the coming months,” Wenny Cai, COO & Co-Founder of SynFutures, told Decrypt.

The strength in these specific tokens stems from their distinct value propositions.

Hyperliquid benefits from “deepening derivatives activity,” while Ethena’s “stablecoin-driven model and yield mechanics” have made it attractive for DeFi returns, Cai explained. World Liberty Financial’s surge, she added, shows how quickly speculative capital can coalesce around narratives with high-profile support.

The trend of targeted investment echoes flows in the regulated altcoin space, where Solana and XRP ETFs have seen steady inflows despite an uncertain broader financial market outlook, according to a previous Decrypt report.

The strength of these assets lies in “innovative DeFi integrations” and “strong community support,” Gracy Chen, CEO at Bitget, told Decrypt, corroborating the targeted investment thesis.

This capital rotation “supports new innovations” and encourages a “more diversified and resilient ecosystem,” the analyst added.

“We’re not in a classic ‘altseason’,” Cai said. “Instead, the market is rewarding projects that demonstrate real traction and sustainable demand,” suggesting this uneven performance will continue.

This selective optimism is reflected on the Myriad prediction market, where users assign a more than 60% chance to Bitcoin hitting $100,000 rather than falling to $69,000.