Author: Gu Yu, ChainCatcher

As mainstream cryptocurrencies stabilize and rebound, the altcoin market has suddenly changed, with coins like RAVE, ORDI, and Binance Life experiencing significant rallies, with RAVE achieving a maximum increase of 86 times.

It is noteworthy that this is not just an increase in a few tokens, but rather a collective upward trend driven by hundreds of tokens. This is a very rare situation during more than a year of bear market.

According to RootData, as of noon on April 17, among tokens with a circulating market cap of over 10 million US dollars, more than 45 tokens had an increase of over 50% in the past week, and over 170 tokens had an increase of over 20%, accounting for 19.2% of all tokens with a market cap over 10 million dollars.

If the time period is extended to one month, there are at least three projects whose maximum increase has reached 10 times, namely RAVE, ARIA, and Binance Life.

Further analysis of these high-increase tokens reveals the following characteristics:

First, they are mainly newly issued tokens from the past year, such as RAVE, Binance Life, and GENIUS, all issued since last October. Statistics show that more than two-thirds of the tokens were issued within the past year. Due to their high holding concentration, VC token releases have not yet begun, allowing the project parties and market makers to conveniently manipulate the K-line and prices by buying back chips at low prices.

Second, they primarily consist of AI and meme concept tokens, such as ORDI, SIREN, and KSYAI. Most of these tokens also lack VC investment and holdings, have a stronger community consensus attribute, and align with popular narratives from the recent market cycle, which can better stimulate investor sentiment.

Third, most of these high-increase tokens have been listed on the Binance contract market, and often show sudden explosive increases (over 50%) as a sign of activation, indicating that their price increases have obvious manipulation signs.

In the second half of last year, the Binance Alpha version also saw a continuous rise in high-increase tokens, with many newly launched Alpha tokens experiencing several-fold increases. During this process, the key role of “active market makers” gradually came to the market's attention.

In fact, the Binance Alpha version is a structured game directed by market makers. Alpha provided chip accumulation and initial flow, while Perp amplified liquidity and volatility, and OI and funding rates became key tools for manipulators.

As more and more high-increase tokens fell more than 90%, investors faced significant losses. In late March this year, Binance announced that it would rectify the chaos among market makers, requiring token projects to disclose the identity, legal entity, and contract terms of their market makers to Binance, prohibiting profit-sharing agreements and guaranteed return arrangements.

However, in retrospect, this rectification has made market makers even more “active.” Taking advantage of the easing conflict in Iran and the warming of mainstream cryptocurrencies, proactive market makers have started aggressively driving prices after a long period of accumulation, creating one altcoin after another.

The disasters created by market makers have led many KOLs to remind investors of market risks. “In the past, the altcoin season was driven by retail investors, with widespread participation resulting in a surge based on real market enthusiasm. Now, the so-called 'altcoin market' is a performance of a few highly controlled tokens under the influence of manipulators, where liquidity is controlled by the manipulators, and price movements depend entirely on their mood. The two are fundamentally different, and blindly following will only lead to being harvested as ‘leeks’ by the manipulators,” crypto KOL Shen Xiaowang posted on X.

In a recent report titled "2026 Status of Investor Relations and Token Transparency in the Cryptocurrency Industry" released by Connor King, founder of crypto consulting firm Novora, the data shows that only 1% of projects disclosed specific market makers and terms, including token lending, option structures, and performance incentives. This implies that the market-making status of most projects remains a black box, severely lacking in transparency.

Currently, the vast majority of altcoins still remain at historical lows, with a rise of around 20% seeming insignificant compared to declines exceeding 90%. For instance, although ARB has risen over 50% recently, it still needs to increase 20 times to surpass its previous all-time high price.

Whether this is a "pseudo altcoin season" or the early stages of a long-term altcoin cycle still depends on the performance of mainstream cryptocurrencies and the macroeconomic environment, as well as the actions of core players.

Thomas "Tom" Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, stated, "Bitmine has maintained an accelerated pace of purchasing ETH each week over the past four weeks, as our fundamental judgment is that ETH is in the final stage of the 'mini cryptocurrency winter.' In the past week, we acquired 71,524 ETH, which is the highest purchasing speed since the week of December 22, 2025."

Crypto analyst Amr Taha pointed out that multiple indicators collectively reflect that Bitcoin's chips are shifting from weak hands to strong hands, presenting a pattern of steady accumulation rather than active selling. The CoinGlass liquidity map shows that a substantial amount of visible liquidity is concentrated in the range of $86,000 to $90,000. Market sentiment has turned bullish, and traders have set Bitcoin's target price at $88,000.

If the past altcoin season was a "fund-driven rise," then the current market is closer to a "structure-driven rise." Under a combination of high control, low circulation, and high leverage, the price increases and decreases are greatly magnified—this same logic also means that risks are amplified in tandem.

When the vast majority of tokens remain deep in historical declines, localized surges appear more like selective releases of liquidity rather than comprehensive recoveries.

In such a market, chasing gains is often easier than judging trends, but the costs are also higher.

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