TOP 5 Cryptos of the Week – August 31, 2026 | Weekly Top Gainers

The crypto market had a relatively modest week in terms of overall growth, especially compared with the stronger rallies seen earlier in August. Nevertheless, selected crypto assets continued to outperform as capital moved toward privacy, DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, and community-driven projects.

Monero emerged as the strongest performer among this week's selected assets, while VeChain, SPX6900, Uniswap, and Mantle all delivered positive returns. Below are the Top 5 Crypto Assets of the Week – August 31, 2026, ranked by their 7-day percentage increase, prices, and market capitalizations.

Market Overview – Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin

Major crypto assets experienced a mixed and relatively restrained week after the significant market recovery seen earlier in August. Bitcoin remained around the upper-$70,000 range, while Ethereum held above $2,400 and Litecoin traded below $50. The more cautious performance among the market's largest assets contrasted with stronger gains among several individual altcoins.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin remained relatively stable during the final week of August. According to CoinMarketCap, BTC was trading at approximately $78,200, with a market capitalization of around $1.57 trillion. Despite short-term fluctuations, Bitcoin maintained most of the gains generated during its strong August recovery and remained the dominant force shaping sentiment across the wider crypto market.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum was trading at approximately $2,435, with its market capitalization standing near $294 billion. ETH experienced limited short-term movement as the market consolidated following its previous rally. Despite the calmer price action, Ethereum continued to benefit from activity across DeFi, staking, smart contracts, and Layer-2 ecosystems.

Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin traded at approximately $48.66, with a market capitalization of around $3.77 billion. LTC experienced a quieter end to August and recorded limited short-term price movement compared with several smaller crypto assets. Nevertheless, Litecoin remained above levels seen earlier in the month following the broader market recovery.

#1 Monero (XMR) – Weekly Gain 23%

Monero (XMR) became this week's strongest-performing crypto asset, recording a 23% increase and reaching approximately $519, with a market capitalization of around $9.75 billion. Monero is one of the industry's leading privacy-focused blockchain networks, designed to provide confidential transactions by concealing information such as transaction amounts, sender addresses, and recipients.

Potential reasons behind the price increase:

• Renewed demand for privacy-focused crypto assets
• Growing attention toward financial privacy and censorship resistance
• Increased market interest in established privacy technologies
• Strong trading momentum throughout the week
• Broader investor rotation into alternative blockchain narratives

Monero's strong rally allowed XMR to considerably outperform the broader market and secure first place in this week's ranking.

#2 VeChain (VET) – Weekly Gain 20%

VeChain (VET) secured second place with a 20% increase, bringing its price to approximately $0.006 and its market capitalization to $593 million. VeChain is a layer-1 blockchain ecosystem primarily focused on real-world business applications, including supply-chain management, product tracking, sustainability, and enterprise blockchain solutions.

Potential reasons behind the price increase:

• Renewed investor interest in real-world blockchain applications
• Growing attention toward enterprise blockchain infrastructure
• Increased trading activity and market liquidity
• Continued development of the VeChain ecosystem
• Capital rotation toward established layer-1 blockchain projects

These factors helped VET generate a significant double-digit return despite comparatively modest growth across the wider market.

#3 SPX6900 (SPX) – Weekly Gain 17%

SPX6900 (SPX) recorded a 17% increase, reaching approximately $0.53 and a market capitalization of $498 million. SPX6900 is a community-driven meme crypto asset built around internet culture and the concept of creating a decentralized, crypto-native alternative to traditional financial market narratives.

Potential reasons behind the price increase:

• Renewed demand for community-driven crypto assets
• Increased social media activity surrounding SPX
• Strong retail investor participation
• Growing speculative trading volumes
• Positive momentum across selected meme crypto assets

The combination of community engagement and speculative demand helped SPX outperform most of the broader crypto market during the week.

#4 Uniswap (UNI) – Weekly Gain 16%

Uniswap (UNI) posted a 16% increase, reaching approximately $5.15 with a market capitalization of around $3.21 billion. Uniswap is one of the world's leading decentralized exchange protocols, allowing users to swap crypto assets directly through decentralized liquidity pools without relying on traditional centralized intermediaries.

Potential reasons behind the price increase:

• Increased decentralized exchange trading activity
• Growing demand for on-chain trading infrastructure
• Renewed investor interest in established DeFi protocols
• Higher liquidity across decentralized markets
• Improving sentiment toward Ethereum-based DeFi applications

UNI's strong weekly performance reflected renewed market attention toward established decentralized finance infrastructure.

#5 Mantle (MNT) – Weekly Gain 9%

Mantle (MNT) completes this week's Top 5 with a 9% increase, reaching approximately $0.57 and a market capitalization of $1.88 billion. Mantle is an Ethereum Layer-2 ecosystem designed to provide scalable and cost-efficient blockchain infrastructure while supporting decentralized applications, DeFi services, and other Web3 products.

Potential reasons behind the price increase:

• Continued demand for Ethereum scaling solutions
• Growing activity across the Mantle ecosystem
• Increased interest in Layer-2 blockchain infrastructure
• Expansion of decentralized applications and DeFi activity
• Positive investor sentiment toward Ethereum-related projects

Although MNT recorded a smaller increase than the other assets on this week's list, its 9% gain was enough to outperform much of the broader crypto market.

Weekly Summary

The final week of August was relatively modest for the broader crypto market, but several individual assets continued to generate notable returns. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin experienced comparatively restrained price action, while specialized projects attracted stronger investor interest.

Monero led this week's ranking with a 23% increase, followed by VeChain at 20%, SPX6900 at 17%, Uniswap at 16%, and Mantle at 9%. Privacy technology, enterprise blockchain infrastructure, DeFi, Layer-2 solutions, and community-driven projects were among the key narratives represented in this week's Top 5.