As December 2024’s second week wraps up, numerous altcoins have showcased impressive price performances, with several continuing the bullish momentum established in November. Interestingly, the December altcoin gainers include those some analysts have previously predicted to be on the list.

In this analysis, BeInCrypto highlights the top-performing altcoins from this week and provides insights into what caused their values to jump. Notably, the top three include Hyperliquid (HYPE), Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL), and Aave (AAVE).

Hyperliquid (HYPE)

Top of the list of December altcoin gainers is HYPE, the native token of the decentralized perpetual exchange Hyperliquid. This week, HYPE’s price increased by 48.60% and reached a new all-time high of $21.48 before recently retracing to $20.70.

This development could be linked to the rising demand for the cryptocurrency. Furthermore, the fact that some of the HYPE airdrop recipients have refrained from selling and it is not listed on any centralized exchange yet contributed to the surge.

Should this remain the case, HYPE’s value might continue to rise. The market cap, which is also close to $7 billion, might also go higher since it is calculated as the product of price and circulating supply.

However, if the altcoin faces selling pressure in the coming days, this might not happen. Instead, the value might erase some of its recent gains.

Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL)

VIRTUAL, the token with fundamentals in Artificial Intelligence (AI), is one of this month’s altcoin gainers. According to BeInCrypto’s finding, VIRTUAL experienced a notable price surge due to the demand for tokens linked to the trending AI agent narrative.

As a result, VIRTUAL’s price climbed by 41.50% this week and currently trades at $2.57. On the daily chart, the Bull Bear Power (BBP) is in the positive region, indicating that buying pressure around the altcoin has continued to remain dominant.

If this continues, then VIRTUAL could rise much higher than the current value. However, if bears take control and selling pressure rises, this might change. In that case, the altcoin’s price might drop to $1.18.

Aave (AAVE)

DeFi token AAVE is another altcoin that saw notable gains in the second week of December 2024. During the mentioned period, the token’s value climbed by 36.20. This development could be linked to notable whale accumulation and news that US President-elect Donald Trump’s crypto project purchased the altcoin.

On the daily chart, it does not appear that AAVE’s rally will subside soon. One reason for this assertion is the Awesome Oscillator (AO), an indicator that measures momentum.

When the AO is negative, momentum is bearish. However, in this case, the AO reading has continued to increase with notable green histogram bars.

Should this trend continue, then AAVE’s price might jump toward $440. However, if the altcoin holders decide to book profits, that might not happen, and the crypto’s value could decline to $309.42.