One week after the first collective advance of Crypto Race 2026, the pack is spreading out again.
The snapshot taken on Saturday, August 29 at 00:00 shows that only four of the fourteen tracked assets finished the week in positive territory: TAO, Nolus, Lava and Flux.
Bitcoin limited its decline to 0.9%, while Ethereum fell 3.0%. The correction was more pronounced for Algorand, ATOM, Avalanche and Osmosis.
The previous week’s spectacular rebound has not been completely erased. It has simply not yet developed into a sustained market-wide rally.
The market catches its breath
Bitcoin briefly moved above $81,000 during the week before falling back below $78,000. After such a rapid rise, some profit-taking was almost inevitable.
Institutional flows initially continued to support the move. Between August 24 and 27, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded more than $1.1 billion in net inflows. But the trend reversed on August 28, with $201.9 million in net outflows. Source: Farside Investors
The market also had to digest Kevin Warsh’s speech at Jackson Hole. The Federal Reserve Chair described the US economy as strong but reiterated that inflation remained too high and that the 2% target was firm. He therefore offered no obvious signal of imminent monetary easing. Source: US Federal Reserve
Against this backdrop, the end of the week looked more like a consolidation following the previous short squeeze than a complete reversal.
CAT1: TAO is the only asset moving forward
TAO gained 1.7%, making it the only CAT1 asset to advance this week.
Bitcoin held firm with a limited decline of 0.9%, ahead of Ethereum at -3.0%. Akash lost 4.7%, Osmosis 6.8%, Avalanche 7.1% and ATOM 8.0%. Algorand finished last with a 10.9% decline, erasing nearly half of its previous rebound.
The CAT1 ranking without yield is now:
- Akash: +26.7%
- TAO: -4.8%
- Bitcoin: -13.8%
- Ethereum: -22.0%
- ATOM: -31.4%
- Algorand: -31.8%
- Osmosis: -32.8%
- Avalanche: -47.2%
Akash therefore maintains a comfortable lead and remains the only competitor still in positive territory since January 3. Its result nevertheless falls from +32.9% to +26.7% in one week.
TAO, meanwhile, is moving closer to break-even. With a loss of only 4.8% without yield, it consolidates second place and extends its advantage over Bitcoin.
One timing detail is important, however. TAO’s expansion to Base through Chainlink CCIP, enabling swaps on Aerodrome, was announced on August 29 after our snapshot. This development may affect the next measurement period, but it should not be used retrospectively to explain the 1.7% gain recorded this week. Source: Crypto Times
Yields are not enough to save ATOM against Ethereum
With accumulated rewards included, Akash remains comfortably ahead at approximately +36.1%. TAO moves even closer to break-even at -1.9%, ahead of Bitcoin at -13.3%.
Last week, staking allowed ATOM to edge narrowly ahead of Ethereum. That advantage did not last.
Ethereum now returns to fourth place at approximately -20.4%, compared with -24.3% for ATOM. The Cosmos Hub token’s 8% weekly decline was too large for its staking rewards to absorb.
Algorand follows at -29.3%, ahead of Osmosis at -30.7% and Avalanche at -45.4%.
Staking therefore continues to reduce losses, but it cannot sustainably compensate for such a significant difference in price performance.
CAT2: Nolus moves against the market
Nolus recorded the strongest performance in the entire Crypto Race this week, gaining 19.6%.
Lava advanced 5.9% and Flux 1.3%. In contrast, Shentu declined 4.7%, Gnosis 5.3% and Band 6.7%.
The CAT2 ranking without yield is now:
- Gnosis: -12.5%
- Nolus: -24.8%
- Band: -50.4%
- Flux: -55.5%
- Shentu: -57.4%
- Lava: -86.4%
With yields included, Gnosis remains first at approximately -9.6%, ahead of Nolus at -22.8%.
Band improves to -43.5%. Thanks to its slight weekly gain and accumulated node earnings, Flux reaches approximately -46.2% and moves ahead of Shentu at -47.1%. Lava remains last at approximately -86.0%.
Nolus’ Solana launch changes the reading of the week
Unlike many of the market movements observed this week, the rise in Nolus coincided with a project-specific development.
The protocol launched its offering on Solana on August 28, providing fixed-rate, asset-backed positions alongside its partial-liquidation mechanism. Source: Solana Compass
At the same time, Nolus announced the gradual closure of its two Osmosis protocols tied to Noble USDC. The decision accompanies the migration to Injective USDC, with the complete shutdown scheduled for September 5. New users are now being directed toward the Solana instance. Source: Nolus Knowledge Hub
The move to Solana therefore gives Nolus access to a much larger potential market, but it also comes with the closure of its historical environment on Osmosis.
The 19.6% rise should nevertheless be interpreted cautiously. NLS remains a small-cap asset with limited liquidity, meaning relatively modest trading volumes can quickly amplify movements in either direction.
The altseason will have to wait
Last week, all fourteen assets advanced simultaneously. This time, ten finished in negative territory.
That reversal does not mean the rebound was entirely artificial. Bitcoin retained almost all its gains, while TAO continued to advance. Nolus also benefited from a tangible catalyst through its arrival on Solana.
But the momentum is no longer collective.
Akash remains the only asset in positive territory since January, TAO is approaching break-even, and Bitcoin retains third place. Behind them, losses still exceed 20%, and even 40% across much of the ranking.
Crypto Race has certainly found movement again.
To call it an altseason, that movement will need to last for more than one week.
