Investing.com - The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant surge, pushing Bitcoin to an all-time high above $112,900 on July 10. This rise ignited substantial gains across a wide array of altcoins, with meme coins and select decentralized finance tokens recording daily increases exceeding 30%.
This market surge comes as Ethereum also shows strength, surpassing the $2,780 mark with a gain of 6%, supported by institutional interest and expectations of future network upgrades. This market-wide optimism has proven particularly effective for meme-based tokens, which are often high-risk bets on overall cryptocurrency sentiment.
The Solana ecosystem has seen several meme coins among the top performers, including Popcat (POPCAT) and dogwifhat (WIF), which rose by over 15% and 13%, respectively. Other notable coins in this category include Brett (BRETT) on the Base network, Snek (SNEK) on Cardano, and MOG Coin (MOG) on Ethereum, all of which recorded double-digit percentage increases.
Pudgy Penguins, Euler, and Compound: Strong gains for diverse assets
The momentum was not limited to smaller tokens; the Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) project, rooted in the NFT space, jumped by over 30%. On-chain data reveals significant accumulation by whales of PENGU, along with rising demand from South Korean markets and talk of a potential exchange-traded fund (ETF), which seem to be major drivers of its performance.
Another meme coin, Banana For Scale (BANANAS31), experienced a jump of over 26%, fueled by a massive increase in trading volume that pushed it to its all-time high.
Alongside the speculative enthusiasm surrounding meme coins, decentralized finance protocols also exhibited a strong rebound. Euler (EUL), a lending protocol, saw its token price rise by over 12% to a new peak. This move follows the recent merger with BlackRock’s BUIDL token fund and the announcement of the upcoming 'EulerSwap' on Unichain, indicating renewed investor confidence.
Similarly, Compound (COMP), a veteran lending platform in decentralized finance, recorded a price increase of 11%. Its performance may be linked to recent governance proposals, specifically proposals 210 and 211, which received support from key stakeholders and aimed to adjust interest rate models and reward distributions to enhance platform yields. The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance trended steadily upward throughout the month, providing a favorable backdrop for tokens in this sector.
Several tokens with specific utility narratives also recorded strong gains. ether.fi (ETHFI), a liquid staking protocol, increased by over 16%. The project benefits from the ongoing growth of the staking sector, a dominant narrative in 2025, and supports its token price through a revenue-sharing model that funds token buybacks.
Zebec Network (ZBCN), a payment protocol and decentralized infrastructure on Solana, rose by more than 20%. The recent acquisition of Gatenox, a compliance and automation platform, positively positioned it in the world of decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and real-world assets (RWA).
AI16Z (AI16Z) is an outlier on the list, having recorded a gain of 12%. This price increase occurred despite some analyses suggesting a wider bearish trend for the token, indicating that a short-term surge placed it among the top performers of the day. The gains reflect a market driven by a mix of standard Bitcoin performance, renewed interest in decentralized finance, and a revived appetite for high-risk meme coins.#FOMCWatch#WCH