The crypto market is showing a rotation of capital toward altcoins: HYPE, WLFI and ENA are registering upticks as Bitcoin enters a consolidation phase. This shift has driven notable returns in projects with differentiated narrative or product, and raises questions about risk and liquidity for professional and retail investors.
ENA (Ethena) shows gains tied to its value proposition in DeFi: it trades near $0.289 and recorded a recent advance of +7.88%. Its architecture backs a synthetic stablecoin called USDe through delta-hedged collateral in ETH and BTC, and generates yield from staking rewards and funding fees in perpetual futures markets.
HYPE is the native token of the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, which is registering significant daily fee volume, around $1.7 million, and trades near $33.73 with a recent gain of +3.14%. The platform promotes pre-market markets and a growth mode for new pairs that, according to participants, facilitates fast execution and liquidity depth. The funding rates observed in certain markets linked to HYPE have reached extremes —between 100% and 800% APR— indicators of intense speculative pressure.
WLFI (World Liberty Financial) trades around $0.159 and recorded an intraperiod rise of +0.52%, with increases of up to 36% since a low on November 21. Its momentum incorporates a marked political component due to links with the Trump family and tokenomic measures such as a burn of 166.7 million tokens and an approved 50% supply reduction.
Institutional investors and figures with significant positions have participated: an inflow close to $900 million attributed to Justin Sun and the concentration of 56% of the supply among insiders have generated debates about centralization; additionally, the sale of 100 million tokens to a miner for $25 million adds a layer of strategic moves that some analysts link to the risk of selective divestment.
Altcoins HYPE, WLFI and ENA: factors behind the rally
Technical and narrative factors explain the momentum, but they also increase volatility and the likelihood of adverse events: token unlocks, allegations of manipulation, security vulnerabilities and phishing have already appeared in WLFI’s ecosystem. The presence of high funding rates in markets associated with HYPE implies elevated costs for leveraged positions and potential sudden liquidation episodes. For ENA, the complexity of the collateralization mechanism and dependence on derivatives markets pose modeling and liquidity risks.
The rally of HYPE, WLFI and ENA illustrates how Bitcoin’s maturation can shift capital toward more volatile projects with strong technical or political stories; potential returns come accompanied by concentration risks, exploitation and high volatility. Next verifiable milestone: monitoring token unlock events and the evolution of Bitcoin dominance as indicators that could widen or reverse this rotation.
