Alternative cryptocurrencies shone brightly in April, as the markets regained poise following a miserable first quarter.

In a sign of that recovery, the value of the total crypto market increased by 63 percent to $431 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, and as the final tallies prove, there were gains to be had for savvy traders willing to shoulder the risk.

While bitcoin appreciated by 32 percent, the bitcoin dominance rate, which tracks the largest cryptocurrency's share of the total market, fell from 45 percent to 36.9 percent.

Still, big-name coins like ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and litecoin (LTC) more or less flatlined, indicating money was likely rotated out of large-cap cryptocurrencies and into shallower markets.

And as the data shows, some coins with smaller market caps saw big benefits from the decline.

Monthly performance: +193 percent

All-time high: $22.89

Opening price on April 1: $6.00

Closing price on April 30: $17.58

Current market price: $17.58

Rank as per market capitalization: 5

EOS almost scored a double century in April, rising to a new all-time high of $22.89 on April 29, beating the previous record of $18.67 set on Jan. 13. Daily trading volume also surged 915 percent month-on-month in April, adding credence to the rally in prices.

The cryptocurrency gave all the right signals in April. Prices rallied sharply in the run-up to April 15 and remained bid through the month, possibly due to significant interest within the investor community about the platform's expected mainnnet launch.

Further, the Block.one joint venture and the talk of listing on Upbit – one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, may have added to the positive sentiment.

Monthly performance: +176 percent

All-time high: $0.30

Opening price on April 1: $0.033955

Closing price on April 30: $0.093777

Current market price: $0.090563

Rank as per market capitalization: 9

Tron's (TRX) near 90-degree rally in April could be associated with the increased interest in the investor community about a coming blockchain upgrade, one that could see Tron finally migrate from ethereum to the long-awaited TRX mainnet.

Tron founder Justin Sun believes TRX will pose a serious threat to larger, more established blockchains, though investors stand divided on the issue. Nevertheless, the mainnet launch seemed to have put a bid under TRX last month.

Additionally, on April 21, Tron representatives announced a 30 million TRX airdrop to the ethereum community, although it is not clear if the news pushed up TRX prices.

As of writing, TRX is changing hands at $0.09 on Bitnance. The token may remain better bid in May, courtesy of the bullish breakout seen in the technical chart below.

Monthly performance: +126 percent

All-time high: $1.33

Opening price on April 1: $0.15

Closing price on April 30: $0.34

Current market price: $0.369254

Rank as per market capitalization: 6

Cardano (ADA) picked up bids in early April, tracking the broader market recovery and outperforming most of its peers.

While the reasons for smaller crypto market increases might always be somewhat elusive, the coin saw a notable profile boost courtesy of its listing on Houbi – one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges – and a notable nod from CNBC, which highlighted the coin for investment.

Further, cryptocurrency exchange Binance added cardano-binance coin (ADA/BNB) and cardano-tether (ADA/USDT) trading pairs on April 19.

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