All liquid
September 18, 2026
Cryptocurrency markets moved sharply higher on Friday as buying spread across major liquid tokens, with Hyperliquid’s HYPE gaining more than 11% and trading near $89 during Asian morning hours. The rally came as Bitcoin recovered toward $78,000 and oil prices fell sharply, easing some pressure on broader financial markets.
HYPE Leads a Broad Crypto Rally
HYPE was among the strongest performers among major cryptocurrencies. Zcash (ZEC) gained around 8%, while Solana (SOL) rose approximately 6%. BNB and Dogecoin each added about 4%, while Bitcoin, Ether and XRP gained roughly 2%.
The breadth of the move was notable. According to FxPro chief market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich, none of the 40 most liquid cryptocurrencies declined over the period covered by the report. Broader altcoins also posted significant gains, with NEAR, Uniswap and Aptos among the leading performers.
Bitcoin Recovers Toward $78,000
Bitcoin briefly fell to around $75,972 during U.S. trading before recovering the decline and moving back toward $78,000. The recovery marked Bitcoin's third consecutive day of gains, while the total cryptocurrency market capitalization increased about 2% to approximately $2.66 trillion.
The market's recovery followed the Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point rate increase. Investors had positioned for a stronger tightening signal, but the Fed's projections indicated a median expectation of one additional rate increase in 2026, according to market reports.
Oil Drops Below $96
A major macroeconomic development behind Friday's risk-on move was the decline in crude oil.
WTI crude fell more than 5% to below $96 a barrel, while the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield declined to around 4.96% from 5.04%. The decline in oil prices eased some immediate concerns about energy-driven inflation and helped support risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
Oil markets remain volatile, however. Separate market reporting showed continued uncertainty around Middle East supply disruptions and Saudi Arabia's pipeline infrastructure.
Crypto Stocks and Tokenization Developments
Crypto-related equities also benefited from improving sentiment. Coinbase and Robinhood had gained strongly on Thursday and continued higher on Friday, while Bullish and Securitize advanced after the SEC approved a temporary innovation exemption related to tokenized stock trading.
The development comes shortly after the failure of the CLARITY Act in Congress, leaving the regulatory outlook for the U.S. digital-asset industry an important issue for investors and companies.
What Markets Are Watching Next
Despite Friday's broad rally, Bitcoin remains below the roughly $82,000 area that has acted as an important resistance level in recent trading. Market participants are also watching whether the broad gains across altcoins continue or whether profits are taken into the weekend.
For HYPE, the move toward the upper-$80,000? range has put the token close to its recent record levels. Current market data shows HYPE around the high-$80s, with the token up more than 11% over 24 hours.
Bottom line: Friday's crypto rally was unusually broad, with HYPE leading major liquid tokens higher while falling oil prices and softer Treasury yields provided a more supportive macro backdrop. The key question now is whether this broad market participation can persist beyond today's move. $ETH
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