Top Altcoins That Gained Big in the First Week of Uptober

Crypto Market Overview: A Strong Start for Uptober

October — often dubbed “Uptober” by traders — has once again lived up to its name. Historically, the month has been bullish for crypto, and 2025 is proving no exception. According to the attached market chart, the total crypto market capitalization rebounded sharply in early October, holding steady above the $4 trillion mark after a brief September correction.

Total crypto market cap in USD - TradingView

While $Bitcoin cooled off slightly from its recent all-time high around $126.5K to $121K, the altcoin market surged, signaling renewed investor appetite for higher-risk assets. This rotation into altcoins has pushed several mid-cap tokens to double-digit weekly gains — with privacy coins, Layer 2s, and AI-related projects taking the spotlight.

Uptober’s Historical Trend

October has often been a turning point for crypto markets. Data from previous years shows that $BTC and $ETH tend to perform well during this month, often reversing September losses. Traders attribute this to renewed institutional activity, higher Q4 inflows, and growing optimism ahead of year-end rallies.

This year’s Uptober has followed a similar pattern: after a choppy September, the market rebounded sharply, led by strong volume inflows into selective altcoins.

Top 5 Altcoin Gainers of the Week

Here are the top altcoins that stood out during the first week of Uptober 2025:

1. Zcash (ZEC) — +58.81% (7D)

Zcash leads the pack this week, surging nearly 60% as privacy narratives regain traction. The coin hit $234.34 with a market cap above $3.8B and a 24-hour trading volume exceeding $1.4B. The rally follows increased interest in privacy-preserving protocols, as well as growing concerns over surveillance in digital finance.

2. Starknet (STRK) — +18.44% (7D)

Layer 2 scalability token Starknet gained over 18% in the past week, trading around $0.17. The project continues to attract attention for its ZK-rollup technology, which improves Ethereum’s scalability while keeping gas fees low. Its rising ecosystem activity hints at potential further upside.

3. Bittensor (TAO) — +16.47% (7D)

Bittensor, a decentralized AI network, saw strong performance with a 16% weekly gain, reaching $377.57. As AI-focused crypto projects gain momentum, TAO remains one of the leading tokens combining machine learning and blockchain, supported by a robust developer community.

4. Mantle (MNT) — +16.64% (7D)

Despite some short-term volatility, Mantle (MNT) maintained a solid 16% weekly rise, trading at $2.25. As an Ethereum Layer 2 solution backed by the BitDAO ecosystem, Mantle benefits from strong liquidity and DAO governance, positioning it as one of the promising modular rollup players.

5. SPX6900 (SPX) — +13.54% (7D)

Meme culture meets performance: SPX6900 climbed over 13% this week to $1.45, riding social media hype and speculative demand. With nearly $55M in daily volume and a $1.3B market cap, SPX is proving that meme tokens still have market strength during bullish rotations.