As Bitcoin continues to break through the $90,000 mark, altcoins are starting to set new highs. The industry has recently reclaimed key levels not seen in two years, potentially laying the groundwork for a retest of the 2021 peaks. Some analysts believe that the recent performance of altcoins may herald the long-awaited altcoin season.
The market cap of altcoins has returned to 2022 levels.
Over the past 21 days, the entire cryptocurrency market has performed well, with the market cap surging to $3.36 trillion. Driven by the U.S. elections on November 5, Bitcoin's price rose by 40%, reaching an all-time high (ATH) of $99,645.
Similarly, altcoins have begun to achieve their best performance in years, with tokens like Cardano (ADA) and XRP (XRP) breaking through the long-awaited $1 mark. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOL) and SUI (SUI) have recently reached new highs, fueling investor optimism for a second wave of this cycle's rise.
After Ethereum (ETH) reclaimed the critical support area of $3,300 last week, the community is also optimistic about the recent performance of the "king of altcoins." The performance of the cryptocurrency market has led to a new high in the market cap of altcoins in two years and has reclaimed key levels.
It is worth noting that as BTC breaks through the resistance level of $90,000, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin and Ethereum has exceeded the peak of $788 billion in the first quarter of 2024. This momentum has pushed the market cap of altcoins above $840 billion last week, reaching the highest level since April 2022.
Subsequently, despite a market pullback, altcoins have remained above this range, turning this level into support. Additionally, it is close to the peak of $984 billion in May 2021, which was a key resistance level before the market cap of altcoins reached $1.13 trillion.
Is altseason about to begin?
According to Bitfinex's Alpha report, this marks the "largest peak trend for altcoins since April 2021." A 23.2% increase suggests that investor interest is steadily rising, breaking free from the previous "bear market onset" level.
Bitfinex analysts explained that this trend "indicates that as retail market participation increases, speculative capital and interest are shifting from Bitcoin to altcoins," which often marks "the final stage of a bull market, with altcoins starting to outperform Bitcoin overall."
Cryptocurrency analyst MikyBull noted that on Tuesday, the dominance of altcoins "has just climbed above the trend band." The analyst's chart does not include the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, showing that the dominance of altcoins stands at 10.37%, breaking through a downward trendline that has persisted for months.
According to this post, it had previously indicated that "altcoins will perform excellently in the coming weeks." Similarly, he emphasized the breakout of the multi-year cup and handle pattern in the altcoin charts.
For him, altcoins began to run after breaking the neckline of the pattern, and investors will see "the full potential of altcoin season" from December to March 2025.
Meanwhile, Bitfinex predicts that "due to the resistance level of altcoins in May 2021, their short-term upside seems limited." However, the report notes that breaking through the resistance level of $984 billion would indicate that altcoins will continue to rise.
Ultimately, Bitfinex analysts believe that a broader Bitcoin adjustment could have a "magnifying" effect on altcoins, and they anticipate that "after a week of sustained high liquidation volumes, both bullish and bearish positions in altcoins will experience a period of volatility."
