Utility Cryptos Ride Bitcoin's Late-Stage Rally as DOT, BCH, UNI, and LINK Surge

In the cryptocurrency world, to use a tired old saying, a rising tide frequently lifts all boats. That has certainly felt like the dynamic this week

As the presidential election nears its conclusion and crypto prices continue their late-2024 rally, several utility coins and tokens have posted impressive gains. Among them are Polkadot (CRYPTO: DOT), Bitcoin Cash (CRYPTO: BCH), Uniswap (CRYPTO: UNI), and Chainlink (CRYPTO: LINK).

Here's a closer look at their performance this week.

1. Polkadot (DOT)

Fresh off a 15% gain the previous week, Polkadot continued its hot streak with another 22% gain week to date as of Friday before market open. This brought DOT to a price of $20.84. Polkadot is a proof-of-stake cryptocurrency that serves as a platform for building decentralized applications and other blockchains.

2. Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Another cryptocurrency that had a strong week was Bitcoin Cash, which rose by 15%. This pushed BCH to a price of $362. As its name suggests, Bitcoin Cash is a fork of the original Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) that was created in 2017. It is designed to handle faster and cheaper transactions than Bitcoin.

3. Uniswap (UNI)

Uniswap, the native token of the decentralized exchange of the same name, also saw a solid increase of 11% this week. As of Friday, UNI was trading at $12.18. Uniswap allows users to trade cryptocurrencies directly with each other, without the need for a middleman.

4. Chainlink (LINK)

Rounding out the list of impressive gainers this week was Chainlink, which rose by 12%. This brought LINK to a price of $10.88. Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that provides smart contracts with access to off-chain data.

Rising tides and crypto bellwethers

This big wave of crypto enthusiasm has been with us since the presidential election, which has served to galvanize the world's growing ranks of crypto-heads. President-elect Donald Trump has both indicated support for the industry and has even been involved recently in a crypto project, World Liberty Financial.

Another development at the government level is the news on Thursday that Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will be stepping down on Inauguration Day. Gensler was at times a proponent of tighter regulation of cryptocurrencies and is generally considered to be outright opposed to them. His replacement will almost certainly be more amenable to not only their continued existence, but also their expansion.

As the trading week came to a close, all eyes were on Bitcoin, ever this fascinating asset class's bellwether. As of early Friday morning its price was heavily teasing $100,000 apiece, quite a milestone for what some critics still decry as "funny money." Almost needless to say, hitting or exceeding that level would put it at a new all-time high. It would also be likely to extend the rally all on its own.

Anytime an indicator asset like Bitcoin scales heights like that on a surge of bullishness, investors start to hunt around for comparable investments that might produce better returns. Utility cryptos fit this bill, as they're less volatile than, say, meme coins, and they coat-tail quite nicely behind the leader. Bitcoin Cash even has the vaunted Bitcoin name in its title.

It might start cooling down

Not to be a downer, but the longer a financial rally lasts, the harder it is to sustain. This one feels late-stage to me, not least because it seems to be reaching a point where it requires constant fuel -- i.e., crypto-positive news items -- to keep up the burn. Investors can never really predict events like an SEC chair's resignation, but so far there are no signs of serious market-moving developments racing down the pike. Crypto investors will surely be hoping I'm wrong.