Key Insights:
- The total market capitalization of altcoins, omitting the top 10 assets, expanded by approximately 10% over the week while attempting to break out of a two-year downtrend.
- Bitcoin maintained a value above $77,000 despite obstacles including the CLARITY Act‘s setback, a Federal Reserve rate hike, and a Bank of Japan rate increase.
- The OTHERS market capitalization climbed past its long-term trendline, though a confirmed breakout depends on the weekly close.
Excluding the ten largest cryptocurrencies, the altcoin market capitalization increased by about 10% this week. The TradingView OTHERS index climbed to roughly $219.8 billion while simultaneously testing a descending two-year trend.
This breakout push coincided with Bitcoin bouncing back above $80,000 on September 19. BTC managed this recovery despite rising borrowing costs in the U.S. and Japan, alongside a legislative setback for the CLARITY Act in the Senate.
Altcoin Market Cap Tests Two-Year Downtrend Breakout
Data from the weekly OTHERS chart illustrates the altcoin market cap growing roughly 10.4%, moving from about $199 billion to $219.8 billion. Furthermore, prices pushed past the downward-sloping line originating from the 2024 peak near $451.3 billion.
That same trendline had previously thwarted multiple recovery efforts throughout 2025 and the first half of 2026, keeping the broader altcoin sector trapped beneath a persistent ceiling.
The chart also highlights a substantial support region stretching between $160 billion and $190 billion. This floor successfully held ground multiple times over the past 1,000 days, including recurring tests across 2025 and 2026. Attention is now firmly fixed on how the week concludes.
Analyst Ash Crypto noted that a weekly close above the trendline would sustain the breakout initiative, whereas a failure could force the index back down toward that established support zone, which currently acts as the primary reference point.
Altseason: Macro Pressure Fails to Stop Weekly Rebound
The altcoin breakout effort unfolded amid a turbulent week across international financial markets. On September 15, the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act after it fell short of the 60 votes necessary to move forward.
Shortly after, the Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 3.75%–4.00% on September 16. The Bank of Japan implemented its own 25-basis-point hike to 1.25% on September 18.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index surged past 100 during the week, reaching 100.23 on September 17 to touch a seven-week high, while Brent crude settled at $104.82 on the same day.
Despite these macroeconomic headwinds, Bitcoin rebounded following a midweek dip, and the OTHERS index recorded its most robust weekly breakout attempt of 2026.
Cycle Charts Put Current Breakout in a Wider Structure
A separate two-week chart provided by Moustache places the current altcoin structure within the context of past market cycles. This model tracks the crypto market cap minus the top 10 assets, segmenting previous cycles into accumulation, breakout, expansion, and peak phases.
The analyst points out comparable descending patterns preceding the market advances of 2016 and 2020, subsequently positioning the 2016 market near another prospective Phase 2 breakout.
While the chart maps out historical comparisons derived from earlier market-cap formations and projects a later expansion phase spanning 2026 and 2027, that forward-looking portion reflects the analyst’s predictive model rather than recorded historical data.
On the technical front, momentum indicators on the weekly OTHERS chart shifted upward. The MACD histogram transitioned into positive territory as the MACD line crossed above the signal line. Additionally, prices remain sustained above the red long-term moving average sitting near $200 billion.
Although these readings point to strengthening weekly momentum, the downward trendline makes the upcoming weekly close a critical technical hurdle.
The market remains well below its historical peak, with the OTHERS index trading far under the roughly $451 billion high depicted on the chart. At present, the core technical test relies on whether altcoins can maintain their market cap above the breached trendline and prevent a slide back into the lower support zone.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Readers should conduct their own research before making investment decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the OTHERS chart in cryptocurrency?
The TradingView OTHERS chart tracks the total market capitalization of the altcoin market while excluding the ten largest cryptocurrencies.
What macroeconomic events impacted the crypto market this week?
Markets navigated a Senate setback for the CLARITY Act, a 25-basis-point interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and a 25-basis-point rate increase by the Bank of Japan, alongside a strong U.S. dollar and elevated oil prices.
Why is the weekly close important for the altcoin market cap?
A confirmed weekly close above the long-term descending trendline is required to validate the breakout attempt and keep altcoins out of the $160 billion to $190 billion support zone.