The snapshot taken on Saturday, August 22 at 00:00 marks a first since the launch of Crypto Race 2026: all fourteen tracked assets advanced simultaneously over the week.
And this was no minor move. Ethereum gained 34.2%, Osmosis 26.2%, and Bitcoin 24.8%. Even the weakest performer, Lava, advanced by 2.7%.
The market has clearly shifted into a higher gear. But behind this broad rally, the gaps since the beginning of the year remain significant.
A rally triggered by the US macro environment
The main catalyst came from the United States.
On August 19, the US Treasury announced that it would at least double the size of its long-term Treasury buyback operations, from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation. The announcement pushed bond yields lower and weakened the dollar, creating a more favorable environment for risk assets. Source: US Treasury
The move was then amplified by ETF inflows, fresh crypto-friendly policy signals from Washington, and above all, the liquidation of more than $4 billion in short positions over two days. Source: CoinDesk
This also explains the violence of the rebound: part of the rise came from genuine buying, while another part was mechanically driven by sellers being forced to close their positions.
CAT1: Ethereum and Bitcoin take control again
Ethereum recorded the strongest weekly performance with a 34.2% gain. Bitcoin followed at 24.8%, improving to -13.0% since the beginning of the competition.
This move puts BTC well ahead of ATOM again. Last week, the two assets were almost level. Despite gaining 7.4% over the week, ATOM now remains down 25.4% since January 3.
The CAT1 ranking without yield is therefore:
- Akash: +32.9%
- TAO: -6.3%
- Bitcoin: -13.0%
- Ethereum: -19.6%
- Algorand: -23.5%
- ATOM: -25.4%
- Osmosis: -27.9%
- Avalanche: -43.2%
Akash remains comfortably in the lead, even though it gained only 4.5% this week. Its more modest advance reduced its advantage, but it remains the only Crypto Race competitor still showing a positive performance since January.
Yields narrow some of the gaps
With the accumulated rewards included, Akash extends its lead to +42.5%.
TAO retains second place at -3.6%, ahead of Bitcoin at -12.5%. ATOM improves to -17.9% and edges just ahead of Ethereum at -18.0%.
Algorand reaches -20.7%, Osmosis -25.7%, and Avalanche -41.3%.
Staking therefore improves ATOM’s result significantly, but it is no longer enough to keep pace with Bitcoin after this week’s acceleration.
Algorand also benefits from its own news
Algorand’s 23.0% weekly gain accompanied the broader market rebound, but it also came during an important development for the network.
The v5.0.0 upgrade reached the required support threshold on August 15. It introduces native quantum-resistant accounts, resource-based pricing, and larger smart contracts. It is the protocol’s largest upgrade since staking rewards were introduced in January 2025. Source: Algorand Foundation
It is impossible to attribute the entire rise to this announcement, especially in such a strong market. But Algorand had a project-specific catalyst this week that not every competitor could claim.
CAT2: Gnosis moves closer to break-even
Every CAT2 asset also advanced:
- Gnosis: +21.1% this week, -7.6% since January
- Band: +19.1%, -46.8%
- Flux: +19.0%, -56.0%
- Shentu: +17.1%, -55.3%
- Nolus: +8.2%, -37.1%
- Lava: +2.7%, -87.2%
With yields included, the ranking remains unchanged. Gnosis nevertheless moves closer to break-even at -4.6%, ahead of Nolus at -35.5% and Band at -39.7%. Shentu improves to -44.9%, Flux to -47.2% thanks to its node earnings, while Lava remains far behind at -86.8%.
Gnosis therefore confirms its clear lead in this category.
Gnosis prepares for a major change of model
GNO’s rise came as GnosisDAO approved GIP-153.
The project is set to gradually abandon its status as an independent Layer 1 and become a ZK rollup within the “Ethereum Economic Zone,” settling directly on Ethereum. Source: GIP-153 proposal
This decision should eventually end the current validator system and the staking subsidies funded by the treasury.
For the Crypto Race, the rewards already accumulated will naturally remain included. GNO’s future yield will, however, have to be adjusted once the transition becomes effective.
The beginning of an altseason?
For the first time, the question is at least worth asking.
The rally was broad across both CAT1 and CAT2, with several altcoins gaining more than 20%. This is no longer the highly selective rebound observed during previous weeks.
But Ethereum and Bitcoin remained the two main engines of the move. More importantly, Akash is still the only one of the fourteen competitors showing a positive performance since the beginning of the year.
For the first time, we therefore have a genuine collective move.
To call it an altseason, the pack will now have to keep moving forward once the short squeeze is over.
