If stablecoin supply isn’t growing, the market fights over a relatively fixed pool of deployable liquidity, and it crowds into liquid names. Spot Bitcoin ETF assets under management hover around $122 billion at the current $85,000 price level. The funnel at the top of the stack is massive, but it doesn’t connect to microcaps. The “investable altcoin market” has contracted into a top-heavy pyramid in which new liquidity doesn’t rotate down the capitalization curve.
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One major reason we haven’t seen a classic altcoin season this cycle, unlike in 2017–2018 or 2020–2021, is the sheer https://calvenridge-trust.net/ oversupply of newly launched tokens. Over the past two years, the barriers to creating and issuing tokens have decreased significantly, resulting in a surge of new projects entering the market. As the DeFi boom began to cool, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and gaming took over. Once again, Ethereum remained the dominant chain, hosting projects such as Axie Infinity, CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and numerous NFT marketplaces. The next phase was the meme coin craze, initiated by Dogecoin and amplified by Elon Musk’s tweets and Robinhood’s retail-driven surge.
Bitcoin slides to $91,000 as U.S. trade tensions spur selloff : Crypto Markets Today
Leading DeFi protocols, including Uniswap and Aave, already exemplify sustainable tokenomics through consistent revenue generation. Thus, this regulatory evolution could shift investment strategies toward altcoins with measurable fundamentals, encouraging a move from hype-driven speculation to assets offering tangible, yield-based returns. Regulatory clarity for asset-backed tokens has the potential to open new markets in real estate and energy infrastructure, expanding the sector’s focus beyond its current financial emphasis.
- We also have algorithms to detect and exclude anomalous tickers from our prices.
- Altcoin prices are known for substantial volatility, influenced by market sentiment, technological developments and BTC’s price movements.
- All three of these altcoins look to be grossly undervalued, and as long as it looks like Bitcoin is going nowhere fast this year, I’m willing to take a flier on them.
- As a result, many retail participants actively boycotted or avoided projects with large unlock schedules and unfavorable supply dynamics.
- Buying and trading cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk activity.
- As the altcoin market evolves, regulators worldwide are assessing how to oversee it.
Another risk to consider is the potential for fraud and scams in the altcoin market. However, I’m taking an optimistic (and perhaps foolhardy) view of things. All three of these altcoins look to be grossly undervalued, and as long as it looks like Bitcoin is going nowhere fast this year, I’m willing to take a flier on them. Based on this disruptive potential, I’m looking for Solana ($72 billion) to continue to narrow the market cap gap with Ethereum ($355 billion). At some point in the next five years, Solana could surpass Ethereum in market valuation. As shown, intent and use cases can vary significantly from one altcoin to the next, owing to the sheer variety of cryptocurrencies available.
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Take a look at our more in-depth articles that offer further insights into the fascinating world of digital currencies. It has one of the strongest and most active communities, contributing regularly through forums, social media and developer meetups to the platform’s continuous growth and improvement. This dynamic interaction between developers and users significantly contributes to Ethereum’s development and success. At the same time, these cryptocurrencies raise ethical questions and reveal new challenges for the crypto space. One of the first altcoins was Litecoin (LTC), launched in 2011, just three years after the publication of the Bitcoin whitepaper.
Retail investors began to feel they were being used as exit liquidity, leading to a growing skepticism around these tokenomics models. As a result, many retail participants actively boycotted or avoided projects with large unlock schedules and unfavorable supply dynamics. The conditions that once fueled successful altcoin seasons no longer exist. Ethereum is no longer the sole leader in innovation, and blockchains like Solana, Sui, and Aptos now share developer attention and liquidity. Meme coins are being launched across multiple chains, and NFTs are in a deep freeze.
In any 24-hour period, more trading activity now takes place on Solana’s decentralized exchanges than on Ethereum’s. You could use a contract for difference, or CFD, to trade on the price of altcoin pairs – such as the ETH/USD price. A CFD is a contract, typically between a broker and a trader, where one party agrees to pay the other the difference in the value of a security, between the opening and closing of the trade. Monitoring the cryptocurrency’s activity can help you to keep an eye out for any key fundamental or technical events that may affect short-term movements in its value. BeInCrypto has analysed three such altcoins to keep on the radar during the first week of February. Copyright © 2026 FactSet Research Systems Inc.Copyright © 2026, American Bankers Association.
Bitcoin erased last week’s rally as Asia-led selling hit crypto alongside falling U.S. equity futures. As long as Solana can continue to erode the market share of Ethereum in key areas such as DeFi, it should continue to increase in value. If you choose to trade CFDs, you can follow the ETH, XRP, SOL and DOGE performance live in US dollars with our comprehensive ETH/USD, XRP/USD, SOL/USD and DOGE/USD price charts.
Altcoins have higher volatility and risk compared to Bitcoin, as many are less established. The large number of altcoins makes selection and evaluation more difficult and increases the risk of fraud or failure. Their success often depends heavily on the adoption and development of the underlying technology. In the fields of gaming and education, cryptocurrencies like Floki (FLOKI) are creating new pathways for learning and play. Floki uses blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to make educational content more accessible and includes reward systems for learners and players. Alongside the development team, the community plays a central role in an altcoin project’s success by fostering support, transparency and trust.
