Bitcoin And Ethereum Dip, But These Five Altcoins Bucked The Trend

The U.S.-Iran conflict has intensified, leading to a gold rally, pushing major crypto tokens down on Monday.

• Select altcoins have rallied sharply in a weak market, signaling pockets of risk appetite in the crypto market. 
• Morpho led the way up after signing a 48-month token purchase agreement with Apollo Global Management.
• Near Protocol rose nearly 5% after the launch of Near.com, with chatter about lowering inflation in the community.

Bitcoin and Ethereum edged lower Monday amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, sending a cautious tone across risk assets. However, a handful of mid-cap tokens staged notable rallies.

QatarEnergy, the country's state-owned energy company, said it is stopping the production of liquefied natural gas because military attacks on its facilities have shocked markets around the world. While European gas futures surged more than 40% following reports of LNG production disruptions and U.S. natural gas prices climbed over 5%, the broader crypto market slipped,

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading 0.6% lower than 24 hours ago, bringing the total market value to $2.38 trillion. Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.0% of its value in the last 24 hours. The ongoing conflict between the US and Iran affected the price of the tokens.

Morpho Rises On Apollo Partnership Momentum

Despite the geopolitical unrest, Morpho (MORPHO) was the best performer, rising 6.7% in 24 hours and trading at $1.82. The decentralized lending protocol signed a deal last month with Apollo Global Management, which manages about $940 billion in assets, to buy up to 90 million MORPHO tokens, or about 9% of the total supply, over the next 48 months. 

Apollo's tokenized credit fund already uses Morpho's infrastructure, so this is a strategic partnership, not just a passive investment. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around MORPHO remained ‘bullish’, as chatter levels remained at ‘extremely high’ levels over the past day. 

Further, Morpho has also expanded its distribution network through Telegram's TON Wallet, introducing the new "Vaults" feature that lets people earn interest on BTC, ETH, and USDT. Telegram has more than 150 million users. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around MORPHO

NEAR Gains Nearly 5% Follow Wallet Rollout

NEAR Protocol (NEAR) was up 4.9% over 24 hours and 19.3% over a week, rising to $1.20. The move comes as NEAR launches Near.com, an AI-powered wallet and "super app" that makes using crypto easier by hiding gas fees and managing private keys. The product is part of NEAR's broader goal of becoming the infrastructure for AI-native apps. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NEAR remained in the ‘bullish’ territory, accompanied by ‘high’ chatter levels over the past day. 

Separately, NEAR validators are voting on a plan to cut the network's yearly inflation rate from 5% to 2.5%. If a supermajority votes for the change, it could be implemented in a future protocol upgrade, which would reduce the number of new tokens issued and tighten supply dynamics.

HTX, Jupiter And XDC Outpace In Daily Gains

HTX DAO (HTX) rose 5.2% in the last 24 hours, bringing its price to about $0.01587. This was one of the best daily performances for mid-cap tokens. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around HTX remained in ‘neutral’ territory while chatter levels remained at ‘extremely high’ over the past day.

Jupiter (JUP) rose 3.5% in the last 24 hours and 16.3% in the last week, trading at $0.1731, showing increased activity in the Solana (SOL) ecosystem. On Stocktwits, JUP was one of the trending tokens, as its retail sentiment improved from ‘bearish’ to ‘bullish’ zone over the past day. Chatter levels around the coin also improved from ‘normal’ to ‘high’ in the last 24 hours. 

XDC Network (XDC) went up 3.1% in 24 hours to $0.03371. Even as it weathered the current geopolitical storm, on Stocktwits, retail sentiment around XDC dropped from ‘neutral’ to ‘bearish’ zone, while chatter remained at ‘normal’ levels over the past day. 

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