In the past week, the cryptocurrency market, led by meme coins and artificial intelligence tokens, has shown better performance compared to Bitcoin itself. Some reference traders have pointed to several indicators indicating that we are on the verge of the altcoin season.
The total market capitalization of digital currencies has reached $2.5 trillion. It has been reported that on March 5th, Bitcoin saw a short-term spike above $69,000, causing the total market value of global digital currencies to surpass $2.5 trillion. These figures indicate the current bullish movement of the market. According to market data, at the time of this report’s publication, the market value has reached $2.57 trillion, accompanied by a 2.7% growth compared to the past 24 hours.
Altcoins also had a similar trend on the same day, with the total market value of altcoins exceeding $1.1 trillion. This index calculates the total market value of all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin.
Overall, this index reached $1.14 trillion on March 7th, showing an almost 64% growth over the past three months from $697 billion, slightly better than Bitcoin’s 56% surge during the same period.
This growth indicates increasing investor interest in altcoins and the remarkable performance of this digital assets category.
Are we witnessing the altcoin season?
The surge last week led by meme coins and artificial intelligence digital currencies could signify the beginning of the altcoin season.
Remarkable performance of meme coins:
- Dogecoin: 35% increase
- Shiba Inu: 165% increase
- Pepemon, Bank, and DogeWarrior: Two to three-digit jumps
Artificial intelligence token growth:
- Fetch.ai (FET)
- Synthesis. one (SNS)
- SingularityNet (AGIX)
- Theta Network
While Bitcoin has only seen an 8.5% increase during this period, the strong performance of meme coins and artificial intelligence tokens strengthens the possibility of the start of the altcoin season.
Is the altcoin season index confirming the momentum of this market segment?
The recent growth of meme coins and artificial intelligence digital currencies has increased speculation about the start of the altcoin season. In the midst of this, the altcoin season index can be used as a tool to confirm or refute these speculations.
How this index works:
- If three-fourths of the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap have outperformed Bitcoin during the past season (90 days), the altcoin season has begun.
Current status of the index:
- Currently, only 69% of the top 50 altcoins have outperformed Bitcoin in the past 90 days.
- Although this index has increased over the past few days, it is still not sufficient to announce the start of the altcoin season definitively.
Are altcoins ready for a bullish rally?
While Bitcoin is reaching new price peaks, speculations about the start of the altcoin season have increased.
A report from Key33 Research indicates:
- The market capitalization of Bitcoin has doubled from November 2022 until now.
- This trend resembles what happened in 2020 before the Bitcoin price surge.
Kardiobool, a market analyst, predicts two possible scenarios:
Scenario one:
- Bitcoin surpasses its previous peak and doubles quickly.
- In this scenario, as long as Bitcoin is growing, altcoins will not attract attention.
Scenario two:
- Bitcoin reaches its previous peak but fails to surpass it.
- In this scenario, altcoins start growing after Bitcoin price stabilization.
Key point:
- It seems that regardless of whether Bitcoin surpasses its previous peak or not, after reaching that point, altcoins will start growing.
Michael van de Pop, founder of MN Trading, believes:
- The altcoin season has not yet begun.
- Altcoins lost 40 to 60 percent of their market value in 2021.
Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, provides an interesting metric for the start of the altcoin season:
- When the market capitalization of Dogecoin exceeds that of Cardano, the altcoin season has begun.