The price of bitcoin has been relatively stable since the beginning of May. After dipping to a $4,780 low this year during the so-called crypto Black Thursday, BTC’s price recovered to the $9,000 mark as has been rangebound since, unable to break through the $10,000 barrier.
Meanwhile, the price of various altcoins has been taking off, so much so various analysts are now claiming we are looking at the beginning of a new alt season. The term alt season, it’s worth noting, refers to a period in which altcoins start outperforming bitcoin, reducing the flagship cryptocurrency’s market share in the crypto space.
The last alt season was in 2017, during a bull run that saw bitcoin hit a new all-time high close to $20,000. At the time, BTC’s dominance dropped to a 33% low, but in the subsequent bear market, various altcoins lost over 80% of their value, which saw bitcoin’s market share climb back up to 64% at press time.
Various commentators are now pointing to an alt season because the price of Dogecoin (DOGE) has been surging thanks to a retail investor-led market pump. A viral video on TikTok called on users to buy the cryptocurrency so its price would appreciate, and since it was published DOGE’s price has surged over 80%.
There are people that don't believe it's #altseason. Look at $DOGE. Look at $BTC Dominance. 3 year trend broken + Macro LH and LL for the first time in 900+ Days. Look at retail on Robin Hood and Tik Tok. Get ready. 2017 rehash is on it's way. More and more interest is coming pic.twitter.com/dgIXwUbhpk
— ₿ Pentoshi (@Pentosh1) July 8, 2020
In the last 30 days, the cryptocurrency is now up over 50%, while BTC is down by 2.7% in the same period. Dogecoin is notably, however, not the only cryptocurrency that’s seeing its price appreciate over the last 30 days.
As CryptoGlobe reported, Travala.com’s AVA token started surging earlier this week after the firm announced a partnership with Expedia, allowing its users to book over 700,000 hotels and accommodations using cryptocurrency via the firm’s platform. The tokens endured, however, a quick correction.
Cardano (ADA) has, ahead of its Shelley upgrade, has seen its price appreciate. The cryptocurrency’s upgrade will be implemented on its mainnet later this month, and is expected to improve decentralization via the “introduction of a delegation and incentives scheme, a reward system to drive stake pools and community adoption.
Growing demand for ADA could, as such, be coming from investors who find the reward system under Cardano’s new upgrade appealing.
Source: CryptoCompare
Other altcoins are also outperforming BTC. Kyber Network’s KNC tokens have so far this year risen over 650%, and over the last 30 days are up by 109% thanks to their upcoming Katalyst upgrade. The upgrade will allow KNC holders to stake their tokens to earn ETH rewards while participating in the protocol’s governance.
Similarly, 0x (ZRX) has been surging over a staking mechanism being implemented into its network. After the ZRX v3.0 update was implemented, market makers and other stakers started collecting ETH rewards via weekly payouts. The upgrade also allowed for a community-owned liquidity API, enabling DEX liquidity aggregation.
Finally, VeChain’s VET is up over 155% over the last 30 days thanks to an announcement revealing it was attending the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2020, hosted by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. The conference will also be attended by Microsoft, Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, and Amazon.
Source: CryptoCompare
While there are various altcoins surging right now, some have warned not all cryptocurrencies will appreciate during the alt season. As CryptoGlobe reported, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed he believes 95% of cryptoassets won’t see a price rise during a bull cycle.
According to Zhao projects that have been around for three years and have nothing to show for it won’t likely see any gains, while projects that have consistently kept developing “will thrive.”
Featured image by Chris Liverani on Unsplash.
