This week, the crypto market flexed some serious muscle.

Sentiment took a positive turn after the SEC dropped some major lawsuits. On the institutional front, things picked up, with Binance and MGX pulling off a record $2 billion crypto deal.

This week, the crypto market flexed some serious muscle.

Sentiment took a positive turn after the SEC dropped some major lawsuits. On the institutional front, things picked up, with Binance and MGX pulling off a record $2 billion crypto deal. Plus, Japan’s Metaplanet made moves to expand its Bitcoin strategy.

Yet, low and mid-cap assets stole the show as investors seem to be staying risk-on, hunting for those short-term outsized gains.

Here are the top seven weekly crypto gainers and losers:

Weekly winners

Virtuals Protocol [VIRTUAL] – AI-focused token keeps its rally going

Virtuals Protocol [VIRTUAL] is back in the spotlight this week, topping the gainers chart with a sharp 42.32% rally. After flipping the $1 level last week, sellers looked poised to take control at resistance. But the bulls came out swinging.

The week opened with a 31.20% intraday breakout, likely triggering a cascade of short liquidations. Price action steamrolled past $1.80, flipping it into a local top as momentum waned.

As of now, sellers are reloading, with signs of a fresh short setup building as VIRTUAL shows fatigue near overheated levels.

Over the last 24 hours, OI fell 11%, and $2.08 million long positions at the $1.80 wick top got nuked in the liquidation flush. Additionally, spot volume has cratered 20%, a red flag that buyer aggression is cooling.

Price is down 9.93% to $1.53 at press time, and sellers are eyeing further downside with new short setups forming on lower timeframes.

Still, if this is just a technical breather and $1.50 holds as a higher low, the next leg up toward $2 isn’t off the table. The bulls aren’t completely out of the game yet.

Solayer [LAYER] – Hardware-based blockchain posted new weekly highs

Solayer [LAYER] saw a strong continuation from last week, surging 22% to hit $3.20. The rally kicked off with a 12.46% daily candle to $2.96, tagging a new all-time high. In fact, it breached the $3 handle soon after.

However, profit-taking at $3.25 carved out a local top as the day closed red by 6.75%. Despite this setback, the structure remains firmly bullish. Price dips are consistently met with demand rebounds, indicating underlying accumulation.

Even on the 24-hour frame, LAYER is dominating with an 11.62% gain. More importantly, volume’s up 144%. With buyers defending key zones, LAYER is flashing strength.

Barring a macro pullback, it’s one low-cap asset that could extend its leg higher next week.

Monero [XMR] – The OG privacy coin showed signs of fatigue

Monero [XMR] shot up 18% this week, snapping a multi-year downtrend in style. After grinding sideways for what felt like forever, XMR finally punched through its long-standing resistance band with a 10% breakout candle, tapping $391 – a level it hadn’t visited since 2021.

But while the breakout was textbook, follow-through lacked conviction. No real FOMO, no aggressive volume spike – just a sharp wick and a fast retrace. By day’s en, XMR had retraced hard, closing at $258.

At press time, it’s down 2.20%, with volume slipping 5.53%. RSI is starting to tilt downward, and signs point to long-term holders (LTHs) offloading into strength.

Unless bulls can defend the $240–$250 demand zone and drive renewed momentum, XMR risks falling into a classic bull trap setup.

Other notable gainers

Besides the major players, the broader market saw significant movement. Mansory Token [MNSRY] posted a massive 107% rally this week, leading the charge in the top 10. REVOX [REV] and TROLL [TROLL] followed closely with 105% and 100% gains, respectively.

Weekly losers

Official Trump [TRUMP] – Memecoin mania fizzled out, topping the week’s losers

Sticking with the theme of persistence, Official Trump [TRUMP] went from hero to heavy drawdown this week, shedding 26.66% and tumbling from the top gainer spot straight into the red.

After a clever Q2 kickoff with the much-hyped “Dinner with Trump” promo, price action reclaimed the