Altcoin Season Begins, Some Crypto This Successfully Exceeds Bitcoin Price Performance

Altcoin season or altcoin season is a momentum where crypto prices other than bitcoin have increased. (Photo; Doc. El Economysta)

JAKARTA After the price of Bitcoin rose as US regulators approved the Bitcoin Spot ETF on January 10, the crypto market began to enter altcoin season or altcoin season, namely when crypto assets other than bitcoin (BTC) experienced significant price increases and exceeded BTC performance.

Based on the Altcoin Season Index of blockchaincenter.net, the indicators that measure the dominance of altcoins, currently 75% of the 50 leading altcoins have outperformed BTC in price movements over the past 90 days.

This indicator shows that the altcoin season has started since early January 2024, after experiencing a decline at the end of 2023. As of December 9, 2023, the Altcoin Season Index has only reached 47 out of 100, meaning that there has been no altcoin season. However, on January 14, 2024, this indicator jumped to 76 out of 100, signaling that altcoins have dominated the crypto market.

As reported by Bitcoin.com News, the last altcoin season occurred in the period March-June 2021, when many altcoins set record new highs and generated huge profits for investors. Some of the altcoins that stole the attention at that time included ORDI, SEI, INJ, SOL, ICP, AVAX, IMX, NEAR, and others.

ORDI, for example, rose to 2,067% in 90 days, from IDR 1,500 (USD 0.096) per coin on March 1, 2021 to IDR 32,500 (USD 2.09) per coin on May 31, 2021. Meanwhile, the SEI rose 558.5% in the same period, from IDR 2,000 (USD 0.13) per coin to IDR 13,170 (USD 0.85) per coin.

In addition to the Altcoin Season Index, the dominance of ethereum (ETH) is also one of the indicators of the altcoin season. ETH is the second largest crypto asset after BTC, and has many developers, apps, and communities behind it.

Currently, according to data from coinmarketcap.com, the ETH market dominance is 18%, while the BTC market dominance is 49.8%. At coinecko.com, the ETH market dominance is 17.2%, while the BTC market dominance is 47.5%.

The increasing dominance of the ETH market suggests that investors are starting to switch from BTC to altcoins, especially those based on the ethereum network. This is also driven by positive developments in the DeFi (decentralized finance) and NFT (non-fungible tokens) sectors, most of which use the ethereum protocol.

The altcoin season is currently a hot topic on social media, especially among crypto enthusiasts. Many have speculated on the duration, intensity, and impact of the altcoin season on the overall crypto market. Will the altcoin season last long and erode BTC dominance? Or is the altcoin season only temporary and will not change BTC's long-term trend?

There is no definite answer to these questions, as the crypto market is so dynamic and is affected by various factors, both internal and external. But, for sure, the altcoin season provides opportunities for investors to diversify their portfolios and seek profit from the various crypto assets available on the market.