Market Update: Capitalization Reaches $4.06 Trillion
During the Thursday morning trading session in Asia, total market capitalization rose to $4.06 trillion. This marks the highest level for the digital asset market since late August, as concerns over a potential ‘Septembear’ slump begin to wane.
Bitcoin has managed to reclaim $114,000 for the first time in nearly three weeks; however, this significant movement has been primarily fueled by altcoins.
The market capitalization for altcoins is nearing 2025 highs, aligning closely with levels observed during the 2021 bull market, when it peaked at $1.7 trillion.
“I’m stunned by the fact that people claim that the bull market is almost over. It hasn’t even begun,” remarked Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Fund, who further commented, “Most altcoins have been downtrending for 1.5 to 3 years.”
Indicators Suggest Altseason is Here
This week, altseason indicators have all seen significant rises, reaching their highest points of the year. Both CoinGlass and the Blockchain Center’s altcoin season indexes have climbed to 76, indicating that altseason may be in progress.
These metrics are based on the performance of leading altcoins relative to Bitcoin over the last three months. Nic Puckrin, the founder of Coin Bureau, stated the indicator is in “altseason territory” and is at its highest level since December.
Mixed Opinions on Altseason
Nonetheless, not everyone is convinced that altseason has truly arrived.
“Amid a fragile US economic outlook marked by slowing growth and persistent inflation, altcoins continue facing headwinds as institutional capital remains heavily concentrated in Bitcoin,” expressed Nassar Achkar, Chief Strategy Officer at the CoinW exchange, in an interview with CryptoPotato.
More Read
“While capital rotations persist in crypto, BTC’s dominance continues to reign, forcing altcoins to demonstrate real utility and adoption to be considered for portfolio allocations.”
Currently, Bitcoin dominance stands at 58% (as per TradingView), down 12% from 66% in June, largely due to Ethereum, which has seen its market share double since April.
Current Performance of Major Cryptocurrencies
As of this writing, Bitcoin has risen by 2% on the day, reaching $114,000, while Ether has increased nearly 3%, hitting $4,435. However, altcoins have been at the forefront of this surge, with Avalanche (AVAX) emerging as the top high-cap performer, soaring close to 8% to $29, its highest point since January. Other cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin, Stellar, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Toncoin, are also showing strong performance today.
Long-Term Outlook for Altcoins
According to analyst Ted Pillows, the long-term chart for altcoins looks very bullish, as they are consolidating below previous peaks while remaining above a multi-year uptrend. He noted, “In the short term, altcoins could get rejected from their resistance level, which will provide better entries. But in the longer term, altcoins are going way higher.”
