BTC Tops $119,000, with Stellar (XLM) and Hedera (HBAR) Fueling the Altcoin Rally

Bitcoin’s climb on Sunday thrilled crypto investors, but it was two altcoins—XLM and HBAR—that truly stole the show with even stronger gains.

At 2:20 p.m. UTC, Bitcoin notched a new all-time high of $119,308, representing a 1.4% increase over the previous 24 hours, based on CoinDesk’s pricing data. By 4:11 p.m. UTC, BTC was slightly lower at $118,882, still holding a 1.38% daily gain.

The fresh record for Bitcoin comes amid heightened geopolitical developments. Late Friday, President Donald Trump announced via Truth Social that the U.S. would impose a 30% tariff on imports from both the European Union and Mexico, adding fresh uncertainty to global markets.

Despite the geopolitical backdrop, optimism remains strong in crypto circles. Speaking with CNBC, Thomas Lee, CIO of Fundstrat Capital, said the persistent imbalance between Bitcoin’s limited supply and rising demand could push BTC prices anywhere from $150,000 to $250,000 by year-end.

But while Bitcoin grabbed headlines, altcoins XLM and HBAR delivered even more eye-catching performances.

Stellar’s XLM climbed as high as $0.4815 around 3:20 p.m. UTC, before easing to $0.4578, still up 22% over the past 24 hours. This comes on the heels of Saturday’s 6% rally, which saw XLM leading gains among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Meanwhile, Hedera’s HBAR hit an intraday peak of $0.2516 at 3:10 p.m. UTC, later retreating to $0.2439 but still boasting a 27% surge on the day, making it the strongest performer among the top 20 crypto assets.

Altcoin Rotation Gathering Pace

Crypto analyst Rekt Capital noted on X that HBAR’s recent 62% rally appears to echo its 2021 price cycle. The analyst observed that HBAR is “almost perfectly” mirroring its previous market structure and that any short-term declines could serve as healthy retests, potentially setting the stage for a breakout above the current lower-high resistance level.

Rekt Capital also pointed out that even a small 2.5% dip in Bitcoin’s market dominance has already fueled notable altcoin gains. According to him, if a modest drop can trigger such activity, a deeper fall in dominance—possibly into double digits—could accelerate capital rotation into the altcoin market even further.