Summary
- Zcash gained 12.5% in 24 hours to trade near $1,278, the day's top performer.
- Bitcoin rose 1.8% to $78,106 after dropping to a seven-week low near $75,618.
- The total crypto market cap fell 0.6% to $2.64 trillion over the past day.
Bitcoin climbed back above $78,000 on Wednesday after sliding to a seven-week low of roughly $75,618 earlier in the week, as the crypto market stabilized following a bout of heavy liquidations tied to the US midterm elections. Democrats secured control of both chambers of Congress, a result traders had weighed against the outlook for pending crypto legislation, including the CLARITY Act. Nearly $300 million in leveraged positions were liquidated during the downturn before buyers stepped back in. Bitcoin's dominance of the total crypto market stood at 59.4%, with the overall market capitalization slipping 0.6% to $2.64 trillion on $74.1 billion in 24-hour trading volume.
Zcash was the session's standout, rising 12.5% to $1,278, extending a rally that has drawn renewed attention to privacy-focused tokens. The coin ranks 10th by market capitalization and was the single biggest gainer among major cryptocurrencies tracked, outperforming a broad field of altcoins that posted smaller gains. Ethereum also advanced, up 2% to $2,300, while THORChain's RUNE token jumped 8.6% to $0.62 after the network restored swap functionality on Bitcoin, Ethereum and several other chains following a refund bug that had forced a partial trading halt; three chains remained paused.
Trending search activity pointed to renewed interest in a wide mix of tokens. Pons rose 12.5% to $0.217, Monad's MON token gained 10.9% to $0.0188, and Lighter's LIT token advanced 8.5% to $3.32. Pudgy Penguins' PENGU token rose 6.2% to $0.0073, while NEAR Protocol gained 5% to $3.99. Hyperliquid, ranked 11th by market capitalization, posted a more modest 1.7% increase to $85.03.
Not every token joined the advance. Official Trump's TRUMP token fell 4.2% to $1.51, making it the weakest performer among the coins tracked in trending data. Among broader market movers, Rain's token dropped 6.3% to $0.0062, while stablecoin-adjacent assets including BlackRock's BUIDL fund, Ondo's USDY and Bitcoin Cash showed little movement, consistent with their lower-volatility profiles.
Other gainers included Pump.fun's PUMP token, up 11.6% to $0.0044, Ethena's ENA token, up 8.2% to $0.182, and Pepe, up 6.2%. The mixed but generally positive price action suggests traders are treating the post-election liquidation event as a short-term shock rather than a lasting shift in sentiment, though the regulatory outlook under the new Congress remains a factor investors are watching closely.