Major altcoins surged ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report, led by Polkadot and Solana. The rally liquidated over $325 million in positions across the market. Analysts attributed the move to institutional buying and short liquidations, though they warn the market remains in a structural downtrend despite the short-term bounce fueled by anticipation for the chipmaker’s results.
A broad altcoin rally surged on Wednesday, led by major cryptocurrencies including Polkadot and Solana. The move pushed the total crypto market cap up 3.7% to $2.34 trillion, according to CoinGecko data.
The price surge liquidated over $325 million in positions across the market. Andri Fauzan Adziima, Research Lead at Bitrue, said the move was a cocktail of “institutional dip-buying, short liquidations, and easing tariff fears.”
The rally comes as traders positioned for Nvidia‘s fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings. The chipmaker has become a bellwether for AI-driven tech sentiment with implications for crypto markets.
“This is the single most important catalyst in the window,” said Derek Lim, head of research at Caladan. He expects Nvidia to report revenue of approximately $65.7 billion, a 67% increase year-over-year.
Lim added that Bitcoin‘s price action was “likely more Nvidia-driven than speech-driven.” This followed a period where the cryptocurrency surged over $2,000 around the time of the State of the Union address.
Despite the rebound, broader market conditions remain precarious according to Augustine Fan, Partner and Head of Insights at SignalPlus. “We remain mired in a structural bear market and are in desperate need for a new narrative to rescue us from this downtrend,” Fan stated.
Fan noted the current rebound followed oversold conditions across both crypto and equities. He said the trend continued on the back of a further short squeeze and month-end buying against lowered equity prices.
