Altcoin Market in Focus: BNB Rises Ahead of Fermi Upgrade, Cardano Gains Momentum After Community Vote

BNB Chain Prepares Performance Upgrade

The BNB price recorded an increase of 2 percent over the past 24 hours and is currently trading at $919 ^[1]. This price movement coincides with preparations for the Fermi upgrade of the BNB Chain, which is intended to make the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) significantly faster and more efficient ^[1].

The upgrade will reduce block time from 0.75 seconds to 0.45 seconds and bring transaction finality to approximately one second, which should make BSC one of the fastest Ethereum-compatible blockchains ^[1]. Nina Rong, Executive Director of Growth at BNB Chain, emphasized that Fermi combines shorter block times with stricter fast-finality rules to ensure predictable confirmation times even during network congestion ^[1].

The upgrade is particularly targeted at latency-sensitive applications such as real-time DeFi, on-chain trading, and interactive gaming DApps ^[1]. In 2025, the BNB Chain recorded approximately 3.89 billion transactions, ranking second behind Solana ^[1].

Technical Analysis Signals Upside Potential for BNB

After a sharp decline from October highs above $1,300, BNB established solid support in the $820 to $840 range, which has successfully withstood multiple tests since November ^[1]. The current price of $919 suggests a gradual recovery from this support zone ^[1].

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) supports a bullish outlook and currently stands at 62.39, indicating growing buying pressure without the market being overbought ^[1]. Analysts are watching a potential target zone above $1,050 should BNB break through the immediate resistance zone at $950 to $960 ^[1]. A drop below the support of $820 to $840, however, could trigger bearish momentum and potentially test lower levels around $800 ^[1].

Cardano Benefits from Community Decision

Cardano (ADA) recorded the largest gain among the top 10 coins in today's trading session ^[2]. The community approved a multi-million dollar funding injection in a vote yesterday: 70 million ADA, equivalent to approximately $30 million, will flow from the treasury into the development of the Cardano ecosystem's infrastructure ^[2].

Over the last 12 to 24 hours, the price moved between $0.3908 and $0.4273 ^[2]. The last closing price was $0.4208, significantly above the close 24 hours earlier of $0.4062 ^[2]. The market capitalization currently stands at approximately $15.453 billion ^[2].

ADA is trading above the EMA-20 at $0.40398 and has shown a sequence of higher highs and higher lows since breaking through $0.39, signaling short-term strength ^[2]. The calculated RSI stands at 66.67 and is in the upper range without being extremely overbought ^[2]. A sustained breakout above $0.4374 could release further momentum to approximately $0.50, while a break below $0.403 increases the risk of a downward wave and a test of the $0.36 zone ^[2].

Zcash Under Pressure Following Personnel Changes

Zcash (ZEC), on the other hand, shows a clear trend reversal. The price broke through the diagonal upward support line to the downside and quickly fell to the horizontal support zone at $37.2 ^[3]. This movement marks a clear break of the previously intact upward structure ^[3].

The abrupt sell-off following the previously dynamic upward movement is primarily news-driven: a team member has left the project, which triggered significant selling pressure in the short term ^[3]. The price has also lost the EMA 50 on the daily chart, which now represents a key resistance zone in the event of a potential retracement ^[3].

The RSI is currently trading just below the 50-point mark and signals a neutral to slightly bearish market structure ^[3]. The MACD, however, shows that negative momentum is increasingly losing strength, which can be interpreted as an early sign that a bottoming phase is preparing ^[3].