Altcoins Heat Up as Bitcoin Cools: Is Altseason Around the Corner?

Crypto markets have retreated by 3.6% on the day, with total capitalization falling to $3.41 trillion at the time of writing.

But that is largely due to Bitcoin’s 7% correction, as it dipped below $93,000 in early trading in Asia on Tuesday.

Altcoins have been buoyant recently, and on-chain analytics platform Santiment has highlighted the better performers.

“Traders are still riding the hot altcoins and discussing specific stories surrounding under-the-radar opportunities,” it stated on Nov. 26.

Three Altcoins to Watch

Santiment highlighted three crypto assets that have outperformed recently. The Sandbox (SAND) has pumped amid a notable resurgence in metaverse-related investments and growing confidence among investors, it noted.

This suggests a “shift towards GameFi and metaverse projects,” it added. SAND has more than doubled over the past fortnight, spiking to an eight-month high of just over $0.80 on Nov. 25. However, it has begun to fall back sharply since then, dropping to $0.66 at the time of writing.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) has surged a whopping 330% over the past fortnight to peak at $0.588 on Nov. 25, its highest price since May 2021. The asset has retreated to around $0.50 at the time of writing, however.

“Increasing interest from Korean investors following a political event, further emphasizing XLM’s traction among crypto investors,” said Santiment.

️ While Bitcoin has dropped back to as low as $93K Monday, traders are still riding the hot altcoins and discussing specific stories surrounding under the radar opportunities:

The Sandbox $SAND: There has been a notable resurgence in metaverse-related investments and growing… pic.twitter.com/7HPyInN7gE

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) November 26, 2024

Santiment also mentioned Ethereum’s price performance, which is “being discussed in contrast to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and XRP.”

“Users are expressing bullish sentiments about Ethereum’s potential to outperform other large caps,”

ETH is up more than 9% over the past week and is holding its gains at the moment, trading around $3,430, while those around it are correcting. That hasn’t prevented the Bitcoin maxis from continuing to spread Ethereum FUD memes, but serious analysts are seeing its potential this cycle.

#Ethereum is just getting started and it will not stop until it reaches 5 figures pic.twitter.com/RRcXMHkwMm

— Yoddha (@CryptoYoddha) November 25, 2024

Altseason Yet?

With Bitcoin dominance still at 58.6%, it is unlikely that altseason is upon us just yet. A fall below 50% will signify that the trend has reversed, and altcoins will start to move, and analysts are confident that this is around the corner.

Most altcoins are pulling back at the moment, and aside from ETH, only Toncoin (TON), Uniswap (UNI), Internet Computer (ICP), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and Bittensor (TAO) are in the green today.

Santiment also eyed altcoins with the highest 24-hour rises in social volume, which included Pleasure Token, Tornado, and Axie Infinity.