The altcoin market staged a broad rally on May 13, 2018, with several major cryptocurrencies outperforming bitcoin by a wide margin just one day before the highly anticipated Consensus 2018 conference was set to begin in New York City. Ethereum led the charge with a 7.46% gain, while EOS and XRP also posted impressive advances.
TL;DR
- Ethereum surged 7.46% to $730.80, leading altcoin gains on Kraken
- EOS rose 7.89% to $14.77, XRP climbed 7.20% to $0.7315
- Stellar (XLM) was the standout performer with a 9.60% jump to $0.3720
- Total trading volume on Kraken reached $178 million across all markets
- Rally came ahead of Consensus 2018, historically a bullish catalyst for crypto prices
Broad-Based Altcoin Rally
Trading data from Kraken, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges at the time, painted a clear picture of renewed altcoin enthusiasm. The exchange processed $178 million in total volume across crypto, EUR, USD, JPY, CAD, and GBP markets on May 13, with ethereum accounting for the largest share at $65.4 million in volume — surpassing even bitcoin’s $64 million.
Ethereum traded at $730.80, up 7.46% on the day, reflecting growing optimism around the smart contract platform’s ecosystem. The Ethereal Summit, a conference organized by ConsenSys dedicated to ethereum-based projects, was running in parallel during Blockchain Week, adding to the positive sentiment around the network.
XRP, the token associated with Ripple, gained 7.20% to reach $0.7315 with $13.2 million in Kraken volume. EOS climbed 7.89% to $14.77 on $8.55 million in volume, as the project continued to generate significant buzz ahead of its mainnet launch scheduled for June.
Stellar and Smaller Caps Join the Party
Stellar (XLM) was arguably the most impressive performer among the top cryptocurrencies, surging 9.60% to $0.3720 on $3.06 million in Kraken volume. The cross-border payments network had been building momentum throughout early 2018, fueled by partnerships and growing interest in its technology for financial inclusion.
Cardano (ADA) advanced 5.61% to $0.2859, while TRON (TRX) posted a remarkable 9.57% gain to $0.0756 according to CoinMarketCap data, making it one of the top performers by percentage change among the top 20 cryptocurrencies. The broader altcoin market was firmly in the green, with nearly every major token posting gains.
The Consensus Effect
The timing of the rally was hardly coincidental. Consensus 2018, the flagship cryptocurrency conference organized by CoinDesk, was scheduled to kick off on May 14. Historically, the weeks surrounding Consensus had been associated with significant price movements in the crypto market.
Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat Global Research, had explicitly predicted that altcoins would benefit from the conference. In a research note published on May 7, Lee wrote: “We think alt-coins could similarly rally given the sizable increase in attendance.” He noted that bitcoin had rallied between 10% and 70% during previous Consensus events.
Looking at the CoinMarketCap snapshot from May 13, the total cryptocurrency market was showing clear signs of optimism. Bitcoin itself was up 2.43% at $8,723.94, but the real action was in the altcoin space where the appetite for risk appeared to be returning after months of declines from the January 2018 highs.
Market Context: Recovering From the Crash
The May 13 rally needed to be understood in context. The cryptocurrency market had been in a sustained downturn since the beginning of 2018, with most altcoins losing 50% to 70% of their value from their January peaks. Bitcoin had fallen from nearly $20,000 in December 2017 to around $8,700 — a decline of more than 55%.
Despite the weekly losses — most altcoins were still down 8% to 16% over the trailing seven days — the sharp single-day gains on May 13 suggested that buyers were stepping back in. The consensus among analysts was that the upcoming conference season, combined with growing institutional interest reflected by the record attendance expected at Consensus, was providing a catalyst for short-term recovery.
Bitcoin Cash held relatively steady at $1,493.13 with a modest 1.85% gain, while Litecoin advanced 1.86% to $144.59. The divergence between these older, more established altcoins and the newer, higher-beta tokens like EOS and Stellar reflected a classic risk-on pattern that often preceded broader market moves.
Why This Matters
The pre-Consensus altcoin rally of May 13, 2018 demonstrated the powerful narrative effect that major industry events can have on cryptocurrency prices. With ethereum leading volume on major exchanges and tokens like Stellar and TRON posting near-double-digit percentage gains, the market was clearly positioning itself ahead of what many expected to be a catalyst-heavy week. For traders and investors, the pattern reinforced the importance of monitoring the conference calendar — while also serving as a reminder that the post-conference period could bring equally dramatic moves in the opposite direction.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
ETH doing 65.4M in volume beating BTCs 64M on Kraken was the moment people realized ethereum wasnt just a smart contract experiment, it was real market activity. fast forward and ETH never looked back
consensus_veteran people forget the 2018 conference pump was the last good one. bought EOS at 14.77 the night before and watched it bleed for two years straight
XRP at $0.73 feels like a fever dream now. remember when everyone thought consensus was an automatic pump
ETH volume beating BTC on kraken was a tell. the flippening narrative was so loud in 2018 lol
ETH at $65M volume on kraken was insane for 2018. that was the real signal, not XLM pumping on IBM hopium
consensus pump was a meme even back then. everyone bought the rumor and sold the news. XRP bagholders learned the hard way
xrp_bag_2018 consensus was basically a self-fulfilling prophecy in 2018. everyone bought because everyone else was buying because everyone expected a pump. it worked until it didnt
ETH doing $65.4M in volume beating BTC at $64M on Kraken was the real signal. retail was leveraged long on alts and it worked for exactly one more week before the Consensus sell-off everyone claims to have predicted
Stellar jumping 9.6% to 37 cents feels like a fever dream now. held XLM for three years after this waiting for the Consensus bump that never came again
XLM at 9.6% was the hidden gem that day. everyone was watching ETH and EOS while Stellar quietly outperformed both. same thing happened at every Consensus though, the rally was always front-run
Dominik W. exactly, Consensus 2018 was literally the top. every year people buy the rumor and get slaughtered selling the news. XLM at $0.37 looked smart for about 72 hours
XLM outperforming everything at 9.6% and still nobody gave it the credit it deserved back then
XLM at 9.6% was the real play that week. Stellar partnerships with IBM got everyone hyped for nothing in the end
XLM at $0.37 and IBM was the catalyst. Stellar pumped on that partnership and then nothing material ever came from it. classic 2018 cycle
mempool_hawk_ IBM partnerships were the 2018 version of AI partnerships. announce a big name collaboration, pump the token, never ship anything meaningful
consensus 2018 was the last time the buy-the-rumor trade actually worked for a conference. by 2019 everyone was already selling the rumor too
ETH volume at $65M beating BTC at $64M on Kraken was the actual signal nobody talks about. ETH flippening narrative had real data behind it for a hot minute
rpc_node ETH beating BTC volume on Kraken was the real flippening data point. lasted about a week before reality set in
XLM at 9.6% on IBM hopium. that partnership produced exactly nothing. classic conference pump and dump
the classic buy the rumor sell the news Consensus pump. 2018 was the year everyone learned that lesson the hard way. ETH at 730 looked cheap, it went to 85
178M volume on Kraken and ETH doing 65M of it. ETH was the real exchange anchor coin back then, not BTC. crazy how the dynamics shifted
XLM up 9.6% on this day and EOS up 7.89%. both went to basically zero within 2 years. Consensus 2018 was the local top for most alts
XLM up 9.6% the day before Consensus 2018. that event was the original buy the rumor sell the news playbook
178M volume on one exchange in one day. the retail FOMO ahead of Consensus was measurable in real dollar terms
EOS at 14.77 before the mainnet even launched. 2018 alt season was pure speculation on promises. at least 2024 has revenue metrics