Why Smart Money Is Buying These Two Altcoins During the Bitcoin Selloff

The cryptocurrency market has faced heavy selling pressure in recent weeks, with Bitcoin briefly dropping to around $60,000 before recovering slightly. Most major altcoins, including Ethereum and Solana, have also fallen. However, despite the overall decline, a few tokens are moving in the opposite direction, drawing investor attention.

Two projects in particular: Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and Canton’s CC token, have shown little gains while much of the market remains in the red.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) rises on strong platform activity

Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, has surged roughly 50% over the past two weeks, standing out during a period when many cryptocurrencies have dropped.

The token’s rise appears to be driven by increased activity on the Hyperliquid trading platform. The exchange recently captured a measurable share of global silver trading volume shortly after listing the asset, boosting trading demand. Since all trading fees on the platform are paid in HYPE, higher trading activity directly increases demand for the token.

Institutional attention has also supported sentiment, with major asset managers reportedly exploring exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings linked to the project. In addition, new integrations within other blockchain ecosystems have expanded trading access, improving liquidity and visibility.

A recent platform upgrade allowing traders to hedge positions using shared margin has further increased trading efficiency, leading to higher trading volumes, rising open interest, and stronger daily platform revenues — all factors that helped push the token higher even as the broader market declined.

Canton (CC) gains as institutional adoption grows

Another token outperforming the market is Canton’s CC token, which recently reached a new all-time high and climbed more than 30% in recent weeks.

Unlike many retail-focused crypto projects, Canton is designed primarily for institutional finance. Several large financial institutions are already building on or testing the network, including major global banks and financial infrastructure providers. The platform is also being used in tokenization initiatives such as digital government securities, strengthening its institutional relevance.

A driver behind the token’s performance is its supply-reduction mechanism. Institutions using the network’s global synchronizer system must burn CC tokens during transactions, steadily reducing circulating supply. With hundreds of thousands of transactions occurring daily, this burn mechanism has created additional upward pressure on price, especially as institutional activity continues to grow.