The Google Trend for the keyword ‘altseason,’ which refers to altcoin season, reached an all-time high on Tuesday.
In retrospect, altcoins are tokens that represent native cryptocurrencies of projects other than Bitcoin. For instance, Ethereum, the world’s largest smart contracts protocol, is an altcoin because it operates as an “alternative” to Bitcoin. Similarly, other tokens, including Ripple’s XRP, Litecoin’s LTC, Cardano’s ADA, etc., are altcoins — or alternative cryptocurrencies.
On the other hand, “altseason” points to a spike in the combined market capitalization of more than 5,000 alternative cryptocurrencies. It reached $869.41 billion on Tuesday, an all-time high, after rallying by more than 296 percent in 2021. The same period saw Bitcoin’s market cap dominance slipping by more than 21 percent.
Ripple’s XRP led the price rally by rising more than 45 percent in the previous 24 hours among the top-ten tokens. Ethereum underperformed but rose by a modest margin of 0.81 percent. Litecoin’s LTC fared well after posting more than 13 percent gains.
Bitcoin Rally Pauses
The latest uptick in the altcoin market appeared as Bitcoin’s price rally slowed down after testing $60,000 as resistance. Traders apparently decided to utilize the flagship cryptocurrency’s uncertainty by securing profits and transferring them over to what they thought were undervalued alternative cryptocurrencies.
That explains why XRP, a controversial token hit by SEC-backed lawsuit, which faced delisting across many US-based exchanges, leading to huge price declines, posted better profits than other top coins. It showed that traders merely focused on short-term benefits, pumping even assets that appeared riskier in nature.
Ethereum, which recently crossed the $2,000-benchmark, now looks at extending its upside rally. It technically serves as the primary driver of the altseason. Meanwhile, its high positive correlation with Bitcoin makes it an ideal asset to watch to determine future trends in the altcoin market.
ETH at $2112 is a growing competitor for BTC
What to expect?
Ethereum is rising — and judging by Bitcoin’s “cool-off” period, altcoins have the opportunity to lead the overall crypto bullish trend ahead. The past does not determine the future but safe to say April promises a market rally for these small-cap tokens after all — at least according to Google Trends.
Photo by Stanislaw Zarychta on Unsplash
