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.