A rally in the crypto market, pushing Bitcoin to a new all-time high above $121,000 on July 9, has ignited substantial gains across a range of altcoins, with memecoins and select DeFi tokens posting daily increases exceeding 30%.
The broad market uplift comes as Ethereum also shows strength, crossing the $2,780 mark with a 6% gain, buoyed by institutional interest and anticipation of future network upgrades.
This market-wide optimism has proven particularly potent for meme-based tokens, which often act as high-beta plays on the general crypto sentiment. The Solana ecosystem saw multiple memecoins in the top performers list, including Popcat (POPCAT) and dogwifhat (WIF), which rose over 15% and 13% respectively. Other notable gainers in this category include Brett (BRETT) on the Base network, Snek (SNEK) on Cardano, and MOG Coin (MOG) on Ethereum, all posting double-digit percentage increases.
The momentum is not isolated to smaller tokens; Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), a project with roots in the NFT space, surged over 30%. On-chain data reveals significant whale accumulation for PENGU, coupled with a surge in demand from South Korean markets and chatter around a potential ETF filing, which appear to be key drivers of its performance.
Another memecoin, Banana For Scale (BANANAS31), experienced a more than 26% jump, fueled by a massive increase in trading volume that pushed it to a new all-time high.
Beyond the speculative fervor surrounding memecoins, decentralized finance protocols also demonstrated a strong recovery. Euler (EUL), a lending protocol, saw its token price climb over 12% to a new peak. This move follows the project’s recent integration with BlackRock’s tokenized asset fund, BUIDL, and the announcement of its forthcoming “EulerSwap” on Unichain, signaling renewed investor confidence.
Similarly, Compound (COMP), the veteran DeFi lending platform, registered an 11% price increase. Its performance may be linked to recent governance proposals, specifically 210 and 211, which were supported by key stakeholders and aimed at adjusting interest rate models and reward distributions to optimize platform yields. The total value locked in DeFi has been on a steady incline throughout the month, providing a favorable backdrop for tokens in the sector.
Several tokens with specific utility narratives also posted strong gains. ether.fi (ETHFI), a liquid restaking protocol, increased by over 16%. The project is benefiting from the continued growth of the restaking sector, a dominant narrative in 2025, and supports its token price through a revenue-sharing model that funds token buybacks.
Zebec Network (ZBCN), a decentralized payment and infrastructure protocol on Solana, rose more than 20%. The project’s recent acquisition of Gatenox, a compliance and automation platform, positions it favorably within the realms of both Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) and Real World Assets (RWA).
An outlier in the list was ai16z (AI16Z), which recorded a 12% gain. This price spike occurred despite some analyses pointing to a broader bearish trend for the token, indicating a short-term pump placed it among the day’s top performers.
The gains reflect a market driven by a combination of Bitcoin’s record performance, resurgent interest in DeFi, and a renewed appetite for high-beta memecoins.
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