Altcoin Season is Back: SHIB Rises 15%, BONK Surges 140%, and ADA Approaches $1

As Bitcoin’s dominance continues to decline in Q3 2025, traders are redirecting their attention toward altcoins that exhibit significant potential. During this altcoin season, tokens that were previously overlooked are starting to regain traction.

Shiba Inu and Bonk are at the forefront of a revived wave of meme coin speculation, while Cardano is attracting investments based on institutional narratives. Collectively, these three tokens signify a market phase influenced by a blend of excitement, community strength, and genuine development, where sentiment cycles are accelerating more than ever.

Shiba Inu: Beyond a Meme

SHIB is currently trading at $0.00001367, boasting a market capitalization of $8 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of nearly $462 million.

Although it is often still categorized as a meme coin, SHIB has steadily developed an ecosystem. The Shibarium Layer-2 network facilitates DeFi, NFTs, and dApps. SHIB also serves as a means for gas fees, indicating a clear shift towards practical use.

Recent community DAO initiatives and staking integrations have bolstered its infrastructure.

According to CryptoRank, whale wallets have increased their holdings by over 600% in recent weeks. On LunarCrush, SHIB saw over 6,400 mentions and close to 350,000 engagements in July.

These statistics, combined with a 15% monthly increase, imply that SHIB is potentially evolving into a hybrid token: part-meme, part-platform. In this cycle, that combination may be what sustains its relevance.

Bonk: Dominating in Altcoin Season

BONK is trading at $0.000034, with a market cap of $2.76 billion and a 24-hour volume exceeding $1.6 million.

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— Cardano Community (@Cardano) July 24, 2025

BONK Price (Source: CoinMarketCap)

The token has now been integrated into several Solana dApps, including Jupiter and native GameFi applications.

Initially launched as a meme, BONK’s utility in liquidity provision and in-game applications has expanded. Support from exchanges has grown, and burn campaigns have reinforced scarcity narratives.

Social engagement remains robust, with whale wallets frequently rotating their positions, indicating both speculation and trend-driven trading.

Over the past 30 days, it has surged nearly 140%, and despite some volatility, BONK seems to be maturing alongside Solana’s overall ecosystem revival. If the altcoin season genuinely returns in the latter half of 2025, BONK could offer competitive performance.

Cardano: Utility Rooted in Narrative

ADA is trading at $0.81, with a market cap of $29 billion and a daily volume of $2.4 billion.

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— Cardano Community (@Cardano) July 24, 2025

Cardano’s market position is bolstered by essential updates. The Hydra Layer-2 scaling protocol is operational, and the Mithril fast-sync update has gone live. Progress is also being made on Voltaire governance milestones, providing token holders with greater authority.

There is an uptick in stablecoin activity. Both Djed and USDA are active, contributing to on-chain liquidity.

In contrast to meme coins, ADA enjoys long-term trust, and its current breakout reflects this trend, illustrating how retail and institutional flows can align.

Altcoin Season: Focus Equals Allocation

SHIB, BONK, and ADA occupy various positions on the speculation-to-utility spectrum. However, all are benefiting from renewed flows in a rapidly changing market. The energy from memes, protocol advancements, and community engagement have all played a role. As altcoin season picks up speed, attention proves to be a proxy for momentum. For the time being, these three tokens possess it.

Retail excitement is increasing alongside deeper on-chain activity, indicating that this altseason is no longer confined to short-term spikes. Instead, even established tokens are adapting under market pressure, merging narrative, utility, and engagement.

When volatility resurfaces, SHIB, BONK, and ADA demonstrate the various ways tokens can maintain their relevance. Whether driven by community support, practical use, or trader momentum, they remain in circulation—at least for now.

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