$QNT Cryptocurrencies that became the September winners
September 2026 significantly reshuffled the balance of power among the largest cryptocurrencies. One of the main winners was Quant (QNT), which rose from around 65th to 34th place by market capitalization. Interest in QNT was bolstered by activity around Quant’s corporate blockchain infrastructure and a sharp increase in demand for the token.
Even more attention was drawn to $NEAR Protocol. Over the month, NEAR climbed from 34th to 17th place. The main drivers were the development of the AI direction within the ecosystem, growth in network activity, and a renewed investor interest in major L1 projects.
Among the leaders was also Zcash (). Its market capitalization increased over the month from approximately $14 to $25 billion. Demand was supported by the privacy narrative and ZEC’s limited supply.
Aerodrome Finance, Arbitrum, Pyth Network, Ethena, and Aptos also notably improved their positions. They were backed by growth in DeFi activity, the development of Ethereum L2, demand for blockchain oracles, and new ecosystem products.
September highlighted an important trend: capital was flowing not only into Bitcoin and Ethereum. Investors actively searched for projects with their own strong drivers—capable of outpacing the broader crypto market even without a full altcoin cycle.
September 2026 significantly reshuffled the balance of power among the largest cryptocurrencies. One of the main winners was Quant (QNT), which rose from around 65th to 34th place by market capitalization. Interest in QNT was bolstered by activity around Quant’s corporate blockchain infrastructure and a sharp increase in demand for the token.
Even more attention was drawn to $NEAR Protocol. Over the month, NEAR climbed from 34th to 17th place. The main drivers were the development of the AI direction within the ecosystem, growth in network activity, and a renewed investor interest in major L1 projects.
Among the leaders was also Zcash (). Its market capitalization increased over the month from approximately $14 to $25 billion. Demand was supported by the privacy narrative and ZEC’s limited supply.
Aerodrome Finance, Arbitrum, Pyth Network, Ethena, and Aptos also notably improved their positions. They were backed by growth in DeFi activity, the development of Ethereum L2, demand for blockchain oracles, and new ecosystem products.
September highlighted an important trend: capital was flowing not only into Bitcoin and Ethereum. Investors actively searched for projects with their own strong drivers—capable of outpacing the broader crypto market even without a full altcoin cycle.