As Bitcoin's dominance continues to wane in the third quarter of 2025, traders are turning their attention to promising altcoins. In this altcoin season, previously overlooked tokens are regaining momentum.
Shiba Inu and Bonk represent a new wave of meme coin speculation, while Cardano attracts capital with its institutional narrative. Together, these three tokens indicate that the market is in a phase driven by hype, community power, and actual development, with changes in sentiment cycles happening faster than ever.
Shiba Inu: More Than Just a Meme
The trading price of SHIB is $0.00001367, with a market cap of $8 billion and a 24-hour trading volume close to $462 million.
While SHIB is still commonly referred to as a meme coin, it has quietly built up an ecosystem. The Shibarium Layer-2 network supports DeFi, NFTs, and dApps. SHIB can also be used to pay Gas fees, marking a significant step towards functionality.
Recent community DAO proposals and staking integrations have bolstered its infrastructure.
According to CryptoRank, in recent weeks, whale wallet holdings have increased by over 600%. On LunarCrush, SHIB was mentioned over 6,400 times in July, with nearly 350,000 participants.
These data, along with a monthly increase of 15%, suggest that SHIB may be evolving into a hybrid token: part meme, part platform. In this cycle, this fusion may be key to maintaining its relevance.
Bonk: Taking Over Altcoin Season
The trading price of BONK is $0.000034, with a market cap of $2.76 billion and a 24-hour trading volume exceeding $1.6 million.
The token is now integrated into multiple Solana dApps, including Jupiter and native GameFi applications.
Although BONK was initially just a meme, its utility in liquidity provision and in-game use cases has been steadily increasing. Exchange support is expanding, and burn activities have also supported the scarcity narrative.
Social activity remains vibrant, with whale wallets constantly entering and exiting, indicating both speculative behavior and trend-based trading.
In the past 30 days, BONK has risen by nearly 140%. Despite its volatility, BONK seems to be maturing alongside the broader rebound of the Solana ecosystem. If the peak season for altcoins truly returns in the second half of 2025, BONK may deliver highly competitive performance.
Cardano: Utility Based on Narrative
ADA's trading price is $0.81, with a market cap of $29 billion and a daily trading volume of $2.4 billion.
Cardano's market position benefits from underlying upgrades. The Hydra Layer-2 scaling protocol is now operational, and the Mithril rapid synchronization update has also been launched. The Voltaire governance milestone is continuously progressing, granting token holders greater control.
Stablecoin activity is on the rise. Both Djed and USDA are very active, contributing to on-chain liquidity.
Unlike meme coins, ADA benefits from long-tail trust, and its current breakout reflects their trends, showing how retail and institutional liquidity can remain aligned.
Altcoin Season: Attention Equals Distribution
SHIB, BONK, and ADA occupy different positions on the spectrum from speculation to utility. However, they all benefit from new liquidity in a rapidly fluctuating market. Meme energy, protocol upgrades, and community activity have all contributed. As the altcoin season approaches, attention has proven to be a representation of market momentum. Currently, all three tokens possess this momentum.
With the deepening of on-chain activity, retail enthusiasm is also growing, indicating that this altcoin season is no longer limited to quick surges. Instead, even traditional tokens are continuously evolving under market pressure, integrating narrative, utility, and engagement.
As market volatility returns, SHIB, BONK, and ADA demonstrate different ways tokens can maintain relevance. Whether driven by community, use cases, or trader momentum, they will continue to rotate—at least for now.
