While Bitcoin dominated headlines with its relentless march toward $8,300 on November 22, 2017, the altcoin market was telling a far more dramatic story. A sweeping rally across alternative cryptocurrencies — with Dash gaining 16.6%, Monero surging 17.3%, and Bitcoin Cash climbing 10.3% in a single day — masked growing unease following the theft of $31 million from Tether’s treasury wallet just days earlier.
TL;DR
- Bitcoin held steady at $8,253 on November 22, up 2.12% over 24 hours despite the Tether hack fallout
- Altcoins stole the show: Dash (+16.6%), Monero (+17.3%), Bitcoin Cash (+10.3%), and Augur REP (+14.1%) all posted double-digit gains
- Tether lost $30,950,010 USDT from its treasury wallet on November 19, triggering exchange freezes and market panic
- Ethereum traded at $380 despite persistent wallet security vulnerabilities
- Kraken recorded $152 million in total trading volume across all markets
Privacy Coins Lead the Charge
November 22 belonged to privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. Monero (XMR) reached an all-time high of $163.65, posting a remarkable 17.3% gain as investors gravitated toward coins offering transaction anonymity — a pointed response to the transparency that made Tether’s stolen tokens traceable but not recoverable.
Dash followed a similar trajectory, surging 16.6% to hit $584 and setting its own all-time high on Kraken. TheDash rally was fueled by growing adoption in Venezuela and other markets experiencing currency instability, alongside broader interest in alternative payment networks.
Bitcoin Cash Continues Contentious Rise
Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the August 2017 hard fork of Bitcoin that had divided the community, added another 10.3% to reach $1,321.18. The fork’s proponents pointed to larger block sizes and faster transactions as evidence of its superiority, while Bitcoin maximalists remained skeptical. Regardless of which camp proved right, BCH’s $29 million in daily volume on Kraken alone demonstrated substantial market interest.
The BCH rally occurred against a backdrop of intensifying debate about Bitcoin’s scaling limitations. With transaction fees climbing and confirmation times lengthening on the Bitcoin network, users were actively exploring alternatives — a trend that benefited BCH and other altcoins alike.
Ethereum’s Security Woes Persist
Ethereum traded at $380.65 according to CoinMarketCap data, with $369.30 recorded on Kraken — a modest 1.14% gain that belied deeper concerns. The platform’s wallet infrastructure had been under sustained attack, prompting projects like Jibrel Network to build their own wallet solutions rather than rely on existing Ethereum-based options.
TechCrunch reported on November 22 that Jibrel Network, a startup aiming to put traditional financial assets like currencies and bonds on the blockchain with regulatory compliance, had decided to construct its own wallet infrastructure from scratch. The move highlighted a fundamental tension in the Ethereum ecosystem: the platform’s programmability was its greatest strength, but its wallet security remained a persistent vulnerability.
The Dogecoin Surprise
Perhaps the most unexpected performer of the day was Dogecoin, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency that somehow managed a 17.4% gain, trading at $0.0016 with $177,480 in volume on Kraken. What began as a joke in 2013 was evolving into a legitimate — if lighthearted — player in the altcoin ecosystem, with an active community and genuine transaction volume.
Market Structure and Volume
Kraken’s daily report showed $152 million traded across all markets, with Bitcoin leading at $61.5 million in volume. The exchange supported trading in EUR, USD, JPY, CAD, and GBP — a reflection of cryptocurrency’s increasingly global reach. EOS was the only major coin in negative territory, dropping 4.12% to $1.86 amid concerns about its ongoing token distribution.
Why This Matters
The November 22 altcoin rally revealed an important truth about the late-2017 crypto market: capital was flowing well beyond Bitcoin. While BTC held an 8.2% gain for the week, altcoins were posting significantly larger moves, suggesting that speculative appetite had broadened dramatically. The privacy coin surge, in particular, signaled that investors were beginning to differentiate between cryptocurrencies based on technical features rather than simply chasing the largest market cap.
At the same time, the Tether hack — coming just days after an Ethereum wallet vulnerability froze $150 million in Ether — underscored that infrastructure risk remained the ecosystem’s Achilles heel. The altcoin market was booming, but it was booming on a foundation that was still very much under construction.
Disclaimer: This article was written for informational purposes and reflects market conditions as of November 22, 2017. It does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results.
monero hitting $163 ATH on the exact same day tether imploded. privacy coins always pump when trust breaks down
XMR hitting $163 ATH the same day Tether burned was the clearest signal the market ever gave about trust. privacy coins pumped on every CEX failure for years after
xmr at 163 seems cute now but in 2017 that was a massive number. privacy coins had their moment
privacy coins pumping while tether imploded was the original flight to safety narrative. xmr at $163 ATH was well earned
Diego R. XMR pumping during the tether panic was the original proof that crypto markets actually value censorship resistance when trust fails. now stablecoins replaced that narrative entirely
$31M stolen from tether and BTC barely flinched at $8,253. 2017 bull run was unstoppable
unstoppable until january you mean lol
Kraken at $152M total volume across ALL markets in 2017. binance probably does that in 3 seconds now
og_whale_ Kraken doing $152M across ALL markets. nowadays a single whale market order on Binance moves more than that in seconds. 2017 was genuinely stone age liquidity
og_whale_ $152M across ALL markets. binance does $152M in a single BTC pair before breakfast now. 2017 was the stone age
$30.9M stolen from Tether and BTC barely moved off $8,253. in 2024 a $30M CEX glitch causes liquidation cascades. market composition changed everything
usdt_archivist_ the market was so thin in 2017 that Kraken did $152M in total volume across all pairs. now Binance does that in seconds. totally different liquidity environment
dash +16%, xmr +17%, bch +10% in one day while everyone panicked about USDT. classic altseason behavior
Dash gaining 16.6% in a day while tether was actively burning was peak 2017 energy. privacy coins were the original safe haven trade
dash_bagholder_2017 Dash and XMR pumping 16-17% while USDT was supposedly depegging tells you everything about what the market actually trusted back then
monero hitting ATH at 163 while tether was literally getting drained 30M the same week. peak 2017 energy
privacy coins pumped right after a major stablecoin exploit. people were fleeing USDT into XMR lol makes sense actually
kraken doing 152M in volume with zero regulatory oversight. different era completely
monero at $163 all time high during a tether crisis was the market telling you what it actually valued. privacy coins pumped every time a centralized protocol failed. xmr was the original flight to safety
rig_count_ the flight to safety narrative was real. every time a centralized entity failed privacy coins pumped. xmr was basically the original circuit breaker trade
XMR hitting 163 ATH during the tether panic was peak contrarian trading. privacy coins used to actually pump on bad news
$30M tether hack in 2017 felt catastrophic. now we lose that every week in defi exploits and nobody blinks
30.9M stolen from tether and BTC barely moved off 8253. try pulling that today, BTC would dump 15% and every exchange would freeze withdrawals within minutes
Calin D. 30.9M stolen and BTC held at 8253. try that now and USDT depegs 5 cents and CT melts down for a week
tether_skeptic_ 30M felt catastrophic in 2017. now bridges lose 600M and the market barely flinches. crypto has normalized 9 figure exploits through sheer repetition