TOP 5 Altcoins to Watch for September 2026 | Editor’s Pick Cryptocurrency Market News

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Editor’s PickCryptocurrency Market NewsTradingAltcoin Analysis
Aug 31, 2026
4min read
byJakub Dziadkowiec
forBeInCrypto

Five altcoins broke out mid‑August led by Zcash (ZEC $838.78, market cap $14.18B) and Monero (XMR $536.77, market cap $10.13B); ZEC cleared $750 on Aug 22 ahead of a Grayscale ZCSH NYSE Arca listing on Aug 25 that drew ~$14.8M, while XMR’s open interest roughly doubled to ~$278M after THORChain enabled native swaps on Aug 25. Other notable developments: Hyperliquid (HYPE $81.78, market cap $18.18B) faces a ~14.2M token unlock (~$1.2B) on Sept 29 with ~47% to insiders, Uniswap burn hit a record $8.9M in August, and Solana (SOL $103.33, market cap $60.44B) approved SIMD‑0550 on Aug 28 with Transaction V1 on Sept 9; tight September catalysts (ZEC poll Sept 14, CLARITY Act mid‑Sept) could extend gains but also raise short‑term risk for crypto, DeFi, and token markets.

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In Brief

• Five altcoins broke out in mid-August and now face September catalysts.
• Zcash and Monero lead the privacy rally after breaking out August 22.
• Hyperliquid faces a $1.2 billion token unlock on September 29.

Five altcoins broke out during mid-August, and four of them now carry dated September catalysts that could extend or end the move.

The turn rolled through the market in stages. Uniswap bottomed on August 14, and Solana volume spiked on August 19. Zcash, Monero, and Hyperliquid then broke out together on August 22.

Zcash (ZEC) Broke Out 3 Days Before Its ETF Launched

Rank: 10Price: $838.78Market Cap: $14.18 billion

Grayscale listed the first US spot Zcash product on NYSE Arca on August 25 under the ticker ZCSH. The debut was quiet, drawing roughly $14.8 million in first-session volume. Notably, the breakout preceded the listing by three days.

ZEC cleared its November 2025 cycle high near $750 on August 22. It then reached $888, just under the 1.272 Fibonacci extension at $903. The next extension sits at $1,099. This is an eight-year high rather than a record, since ZEC peaked above $3,190 in October 2016.

Meanwhile, a coinholder poll on the NU7 upgrade closes September 14. One question asks whether to replace the halving schedule with a smooth issuance curve. Rejection at $903 could return the price to the $750 breakout level, which held on August 25.

Monero (XMR) Closes In on a Record Above $800

Rank: 13Price: $536.77Market Cap: $10.13 billion

THORChain enabled native Monero swaps on August 25, allowing direct trades against Bitcoin and stablecoins without wrapping. That partly routes around the exchange delistings that hit the asset through 2025. However, XMR carries no dated September catalyst.

The chart broke above the May swing high on August 22 and added 26.5% in seven days. XMR now tests the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement at $538. Above it sits the 0.618 golden pocket at $600, then the record high of $799.89 set on January 14.

In contrast to Zcash, this move looks derivatives-led. Open interest roughly doubled in two weeks to about $278 million, and futures volume runs far above spot. A squeeze that builds this fast can unwind just as fast. Earlier privacy coin positioning showed the same pattern.

The immediate support for XMR sits at $476.53.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) Faces a $1.2 Billion Unlock on September 29

Rank: 9Price: $81.78Market Cap: $18.18 billion

Hyperliquid routes 99% of order-book fees into buybacks, currently worth roughly $58 million to $80 million a month. A release of about 14.2 million HYPE, near $1.2 billion, lands on September 29. Roughly 47% goes to insiders.

HYPE cleared its prior record at $77 on August 22 and reached $86.71 five days later. The first target is the 1.272 extension at $92.37, followed by $111.93.

Historically, monthly releases moved price 14.1% lower in May, 1% higher in June, and 7% lower in July. From $81.78, that range maps to roughly $70 to $76, which brackets the $77 breakout level. Below that, support sits at $64.91, then $55.41, where the 0.618 retracement meets the trendline from January.

Uniswap (UNI) Burn Doubled to a Record in August

Rank: 29Price: $5.12Market Cap: $3.19 billion

Uniswap activated v4 protocol fees and Robinhood Chain fees in late July. August was the first full month with both running, and burn funding hit a record $8.9 million. That is roughly double the pace held since January.

UNI set a higher low on August 14, then cleared swing highs at $3.99 and $4.43. It now tests the 0.618 retracement near $4.94. Above that sit $5.66 and the January high at $6.57.

The Senate cloture vote on the CLARITY Act falls in mid-September and needs 60 votes. Failure could stall the breakout. Therefore, the burn story needs a caveat, since a 20 million UNI annual growth budget keeps supply closer to neutral than deflationary.

Solana (SOL) Chart Improves While Network Fees Fall

Rank: 7Price: $103.33Market Cap: $60.44 billion

Validators approved SIMD-0550 on August 28, doubling annual disinflation from 15% to 30%. Bitwise crossed $1 billion in Solana ETF assets the same day. Transaction V1 then activates on September 9, raising the maximum transaction size more than threefold.

SOL broke the 0.382 retracement at $93.98 and is now confirming the 0.5 level at $104.44 as support. Volume expanded from August 19. The next target is the 0.618 retracement at $114.89.

However, the fundamentals disagree with the chart. Network fees fell 44% quarter over quarter, and Solana’s share of global fees dropped to 17.3% from 26.6%. That divergence makes $104 the level that matters most.

What to Watch Next

The September calendar is tight. Transaction V1 lands on the 9th, the Zcash poll closes on the 14th, the CLARITY vote follows in mid-month, and Hyperliquid’s unlock arrives on the 29th.

Four of these five carry a dated event, and the leaders are extended after an eight-day breakout. Monero is the exception, so its path depends on flow rather than a catalyst.

Source: cryptorank.io