Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL) and Polkadot (DOT) are on the rise – is it altseason?
Bitcoin (BTC) suffered a sharp correction on Dec. 11, ending its 8% four-month low at $40,150, erasing the gains of the past seven days.
This drop in the price of BTC has sparked a broad revaluation in the market, fueling the debate about altcoins leading the next significant rally in the cryptocurrency landscape.
Market experts and analysts believe that the recent price crash is part of an ongoing price cycle, and after two months of brutal bullishness, a correction was inevitable.
Analysts' impressions of Bitcoin's recent pullback
Will Clemente, a crypto analyst and co-founder of Reflexivity Research, interpreted the market correction as a way to unload weak spots and reduce leverage in the crypto markets, noting that volatility is an important phase in market evolution.
BTC has doubled in 2 months with no pullback, a correction is not that surprising.
Corrections loosen and support “weak hands”, which ultimately allows for a stronger foundation for higher moves.
Bitcoin's volatility is a feature, not a bug.
Cool with benefits https://t.co/BdvvS8KDZU
— Will (@WClementeIII) December 11, 2023
Also, Kaleo, co-founder of the LedgArt NFT project, took to X to express his belief that the recent decline is “nothing but a healthy correction after a major parabolic extension.”
According to Kaleo, demand has defined a “new range” that the cryptocurrency could consolidate in the next two months before reaching higher levels.
#Bitcoin /$BTC
As I discussed in yesterday's stream, the recent trend we've had has been nothing more than a healthy correction after a large parabolic extension.
I believe we've defined the upper and lower bounds of the new range we'll be trading in the next month or two… pic.twitter.com/JOizKeJq3Q
— KALEO (@CryptoKaleo) December 13, 2023
On December 12, X social platform user Bankless offered a “dip buying opportunity” to pull back, as the crypto market had its “worst day” in months on December 11.
Crypto markets had their worst day in months!
$TOTAL is down 7.3% $ETH 7.5% protecting $1.5T$BTC
Is this an opportunity to buy a throwback dip?
Find pic.twitter.com/JRrDJ0qyE7
— Bankless (@BanklessHQ) December 11, 2023
Market data firm Sentiment has seen a spike in social media posts advocating ‘buying the dip'.
“#Crypto has experienced a rapid decline in 4 months as markets have corrected and alarmed naive traders. There is a high level of #buy calls, which is typically due to excessive demand and #FOMO at these low prices.”
Bitcoin may have recovered from multi-month lows, but the big winners right now are altcoins, as many cryptocurrencies outperformed BTC last week.
Altcoins are collected on each time frame
Altcoins have seen huge gains over the past seven days, outperforming Bitcoin. Some have performed better on longer time frames.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin has fallen 1% in the past seven days, while Cardano (ADA) has gained 49%. Avalanche (AVAX), Polkadot (DOT), Solana (SOL) and Binance Coin (BNB) outperformed Bitcoin last week.
After all, while the pioneering cryptocurrency has rallied roughly 60% over the past 90 days to mark $44,000, many altcoins have outperformed bitcoin over the same period. AVAX has been in particularly strong competition with BTC, which has tripled in value over the past three months. SOL and ADA collected 267% and 150% respectively.
In the short term, Cardano is leading the gains among major cryptocurrencies by market capitalization after rising 12% in the past 24 hours. Another top layer 1 token, Solana, is in second place with a 10% gain on the day, while Polkadot DoT is up 9.2% over the same period.
Meanwhile, despite reaching a key $42,000, bitcoin posted only a 3% gain on December 13, suggesting it is still trailing altcoins. But can we talk about the beginning of another altcoin era?
Related: Price Analysis 12/13: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, SOL, ADA, DOGE, AVAX, DOT, MATIC
Has the altcoin season arrived?
Crypto trader Raymen wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that he believes the recent dump in altcoins could push it into another bull run. He added that since BTC's dominance is over, it will take a long time for the big crypto to continue its rise.
I have told you many times about flash waste
Now the garbage is finished
It will take a long time for Bitcoin to continue its growth
Bitcoin dominance has increased.
Now we have entered the actual ALT SEASON
Have a position
Tears of regret are not pretty.
— Ramen Panda (@IamRamenPanda) December 11, 2023
Although there are some signs, it may be too early to confirm the altcoin season. Altcoins are digital assets other than Bitcoin and the crypto community recognizes the altcoin season, with most of the top 50 coins (at least 75%) outperforming Bitcoin for 90 days. This has only been seen for a few altcoins, and should be seen if more follow.
According to data from Blockchain Center, 53% of top altcoins have outperformed BTC over the past three months. Although this is a positive sign, it is still not enough to declare the altcoin season.
Additionally, Bitcoin's market cap dominance is still over 50% since breaking this level on October 1st, reaching a peak of 55.26% on October 6th, a more than two and a half year high.
On December 11th, Bitcoin's dominance fell to 52% and as the price dropped, the crypto community started chanting the start of “altcoin season”. At the time of writing, BTC's dominance is back at 53.06%, above the 50-day moving average (EMA).
However, if the oldest crypto holds its ground or altcoins continue to rally, the short-term view remains to be seen as to whether crypto markets can remain regionally bound.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
