- CROSS and ECHO surge more than 50% amid broad market declines.
- Ongoing Binance Alpha trading competition keeps tokens afloat.
- SharpLink becomes the largest corporate holder of Ethereum with over 280K ETH assets.
Digital currencies showed weakness on Tuesday as the global cryptocurrency market capitalization fell about 3% in the last 24 hours to USD 3.69 trillion.
While many altcoins are staging rapid rebounds after recent corrections, CROSS, ECHO and Ethereum have led current market trends for distinct reasons.
CROSS and ECHO climbed as much as 60%, driven by the ongoing Binance Alpha trading competition.
Meanwhile, SharpLink has emerged as the top corporate holder of Ethereum following its latest accumulation.
Binance Alpha ignites altcoin momentum
The top exchange officially launched its BNB Smart Chain Trading Competition via Binance Alpha.
The tournament allows users to share exclusive rewards by trading a selection of tokens.
The competition runs from July 10 to July 21 and features MemeCore (M), Infinity Ground (AIN), Echo Protocol (ECHO), MEET48 (IDOL) and CROSS.
Altcoins have reflected strong enthusiasm through bullish price action, showing upward momentum despite the broader market weakness.
CROSS and ECHO have stolen the spotlight with notable surges over the past 24 hours.
Both tokens saw increases in trading volume and user participation amid the Binance trading campaign.
The CROSS trading pool allocates 10 million tokens to the top 11,000 participants, while ECHO offers 10 million ECHO tokens to the top 5,000 traders.
ECHO trades around $0.02380 after gaining more than 55% in the past 24 hours.
Its daily trading volume surged by roughly 240%, signaling massive interest in the token.
Additionally, CROSS climbed about 58% to trade at $0.2116, with 24-hour volume up approximately 110%.
SharpLink: the new corporate Ethereum whale
As traders chased fast-moving tokens, another notable development unfolded behind the scenes.
The gaming company has become the largest corporate investor in Ethereum, holding 280,706 ETH.
This follows its most recent purchase, in which SharpLink acquired 74,656 ETH—worth roughly USD 213 million—between July 7 and July 13.
SharpLink’s strategy signals strong confidence in the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market value.
Notably, the company has staked 99.7% of its Ethereum reserves to earn passive rewards.
SharpLink has earned about 415 ETH from staking since early June.
The company pivoted toward crypto in May after confirming ETH adoption as a treasury reserve asset.
Ethereum crossed USD 3,000 on Monday as Bitcoin climbed to new all-time highs.
At the time of writing, ETH trades near $3,050, up roughly 20% over the past week.
Analysts expect further upside toward resistance around USD 3,500, and some traders forecast ETH could reach USD 5,000 this summer.
Supporters also predict an incoming altcoin season, citing market structure that resembles 2021.
Crypto commentator Merlijn the Trader anticipates more than tenfold gains for many altcoins in the next bull run.