Uptober’s optimism is starting to feel like a waiting game. With the US government shutdown dragging into its 24th day, even the markets seem to be holding their breath. That said, there's one thing everyone is waiting for: the Consumer Price Index report for September, delayed but due this Friday, could finally set the tone. If inflation really crosses 3%, expect some serious movement across the crypto charts.
Still, while the macro picture hangs in the balance, a few tokens quietly took the spotlight this week. Zcash (ZEC) led the charge, jumping 22.6% to around $259.96, with nearly $499 million traded in the past 24 hours. It was followed by MemeCore (M), which climbed 16.4% to $2.25 on about $11 million in volume.
Momentum carried through to Morpho (MORPHO), up 14.6% at $1.98 with roughly $38 million in trades, while Ethena (ENA) held steady around $0.47, notching a 13.8% gain and over $380 million in activity. Pump.fun (PUMP) wasn’t far behind, rising 13.4% to $0.00393 on $275 million volume, a sign retail traders are still willing to chase the memes.
Further down, Hyperliquid (HYPE) added 10%, now sitting near $40.55 on a solid $572 million traded, and Monero (XMR) climbed 9.1% to $326.49, showing privacy coins aren’t fading just yet. FLOKI also joined the rally, jumping 8.7% to $0.00007331 on roughly $107 million in volume.
Rounding out the week’s top performers, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) gained 7.5%, trading at about $0.143 with over $433 million changing hands, while XDC Network (XDC) rose 7.1% to $0.06231 on $32.6 million in trades.
Of course, it wasn’t all gains across the board. TRON (TRX) slipped 3.21% to $0.3126, with a hefty $942 million in daily volume, while PancakeSwap (CAKE) dropped 1.79% to $2.71. Even precious metal-backed tokens also eased slightly, with PAX Gold (PAXG) down 1.22% to $4,071.35 and Tether Gold (XAUT) off by 1.09% at $4,070.91. Flare (FLR) rounded out the top losers, slipping 0.68% to $0.0172 on light volume of just over $10 million.
If anything, this week’s action shows there’s still some life left in Uptober. Even with traders watching macro data and a government shutdown dragging on, select altcoins are breaking through the noise. Whether it’s momentum or just a pre-CPI calm before the storm, this proves the market’s not done surprising us yet.
David Adubiina
