Bitcoin and Dogecoin Faltered in 2026, But This Little-Known Token Exploded 375% as SpaceX IPO Fever Took Over
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Velvet (VELVET), an AI-powered DeFi platform on BNB Chain, surged 378% year-to-date, defying the bear market that saw Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin decline significantly in 2026. The rally was primarily driven by intense trader interest in synthetic pre-IPO products, particularly ahead of SpaceX's public listing, which caused a 1,400% weekly spike. Velvet currently trades at $0.6772.
An under-the-radar cryptocurrency has delivered stratospheric gains in recent months, while more popular premium cryptocurrencies have struggled.
VELVET Defies Crypto Bear Market
Velvet (VELVET), which operates primarily on BNB Chain (CRYPTO: BNB), has jumped 378% year-to-date.
Contrast this with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), which have lost a significant chunk of their value in 2026.
| Cryptocurrency | YTD Gains +/- |
|---|---|
| VELVET | +378% |
| Bitcoin | -27.28% |
| Ethereum | -36.47% |
| Dogecoin | -44.41 |
What Sparked Velvet’s Rally
Velvet is an AI-powered decentralized finance operating system and trading terminal that streamlines onchain research, trading and portfolio management.
According to CoinMarketCap, the introduction of synthetic pre IPO products on the platform played a major role in boosting its price. Users were allowed to trade tokenized, leveraged pre IPO exposure directly from Velvet’s on-chain terminal.
In fact, as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) public listing approached, VELVET exploded 1,400% in a week.
“This surge was driven by intense trader interest in the SpaceX and AI pre-IPO markets,” CoinMarketCap said.
Price Action: At the time of writing, VELVET was trading at $0.6772, up 201.17% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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