Polkadot leads top 100 with 24% rally – Can these 2 catalysts drive DOT higher?

Polkadot led the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, rising nearly 24% in 24 hours. Trading volume spiked 530% to $855 million, confirming aggressive participation behind the move.

That rally coincided with altcoin rotation and renewed sector momentum.

Polkadot: Triangle breakout fuels surge

The chart clearly confirmed the strength of Polkadot [DOT] against other altcoins. DOT surged by more than 41% from the lower support level at $1.235 of the triangle pattern to $1.750.

However, this spike cooled off, peaking at $1.75.

Prior to the breakout, DOT consolidated for nearly two months as volume compressed. 24-hour Volume stood at 77.51 million DOT, marking a 28% increase from the previous session.

That expansion aligned with widening Bollinger Bands, signaling rising volatility.

However, price paused near the former triangle resistance, now acting as a retest zone.

If continuation followed, DOT could challenge the $2.00 level. Failure to hold structure could expose a pullback toward the 50% retracement of the recent move.

From a broader perspective, this surge escalated altcoin talks, with Whale Factor pointing out that the season was now hitting a vertical phase. The analysis page noted that Aptos [APT] and Filecoin [FIL] were following DOT’s performance.

In fact, the Altcoin Season Index jumped from 22 to 35 this month alone. This suggested that DOT’s breakout could kickstart the altcoin season.

However, the index had to keep growing until 75 to ascertain that the season was in.

A look into fundamentals and network activity!

The fundamentals side of things was also quite positive for Polkadot. The upcoming governance shift in March 2026 could accelerate this price surge.

Polkadot will be cutting the annual issued supply by 50%.

This reduction in inflation could steer the altcoin more, as it would tighten the circulating supply. Moreover, they were exploring capping the total supply.

The network activity was, however, mixed in sentiment. The number of Total Accounts and Holders hit a new peak of 50 million at press time. This indicated growing confidence in Polkadot’s long-term potential.

Meanwhile, the daily on-chain transaction volume had significantly decreased from its mid-February activity.

On the 16th of February, this metric hit a monthly high of 1,030 but is now at 106. This result showed a massive decline in network use, even though it was recovering.

The fundamentals suggest that March could be a time DOT rallies as sentiment shifts gradually. Still, the recent move could be a bear market retracement, which would invalidate the anticipated altcoin season.

Final Summary

• DOT rallies 41% amid rising holder numbers, altcoin rotation, and the upcoming halving event.
• Polkadot’s rally forced a triangle breakout, leading the entire altcoin sector by daily gains.