Is Another All-Altcoin Season Coming

One of the expectations for Q2 is a return to an altcoin season, lifting all assets that lagged in the past months. In early 2022, only a smaller subset of altcoins and tokens rallied notably. The gains were unevenly distributed and concentrated in leading DeFi projects. 

Some networks lagged behind, not managing to build value, while other protocols gained by leaps. Now, more successful days are spreading to a new selection of coins. 

Cardano Breaks Above $1

As previously expected, ADA vaulted the $1 level after one strong day of gains. The coin appreciated after gaining momentum. But the biggest upward boost came from the expectation that even more ADA would be locked to launch a new algorithmic coin.

Cardano follows the idea of Terra (LUNA) to create an asset and back it with multiple other crypto coins, including a LUNA burn and reinvestment program. 

For now, the ADA-based stablecoin is still in the project stage, but may be a part of a bigger trend. ADA moved up and now stands above LUNA and Solana (SOL) in market capitalization. LUNA and SOL took a step back this time, retreating under $100 after a rally in the beginning of the new week. 

While most large and liquid altcoins are not at lows, a season of overall price growth may have an even larger effect compared to only a series of Bitcoin rallies. The recent appreciation of altcoins is eating into the dominance of BTC and Ethereum (ETH), with some individual assets growing their influence with many side projects and their own sources of liquidity getting more detached from BTC.

Why NEAR Keeps Growing

Near Protocol (NEAR) is one of the networks to adopt their version of Terra (LUNA). But NEAR has additional factors to boost its price. The protocol is adopted by multiple side projects, including games and NFT collections. 

$NEAR ecosystem is growing rapidly pic.twitter.com/QPXTveYxLx

— Coin98 Analytics (@Coin98Analytics) March 23, 2022

NEAR is up more than 20% in the past week, gaining to $12.22 with fast appreciation within hours. 

NEAR joins a list of altcoins that extend their latest gains. NEAR is at a one-month high, though still far from its three-month peak around $20. The recent rally also happens after a slow trading period, with volumes picking up along with the price action. 

Ethereum Classic (ETC): Can it Reach $50

ETC extended its rally, getting almost to $48 before retreating. ETC expected a rally after breaking the $40 barrier, but now the asset has to stabilize the new gains. 

ETC expects to move to a higher tier in 2022, based on demand from miners. The arrival of an altcoin market may lead ETC to its previous highs. 

$ETc is likely to see a short-term downside correction before rising further, don't worry that's healthy for long-term upside pic.twitter.com/VlNjr6DRgm

— Hung Nguyen (@hungict91) March 23, 2022

Bullish predictions for ETC are a best-case scenario, but the token is seen as having significant upside after lagging for months. Briefly, ETC touched $51 on the Coinbase exchange, but for wider investors on Robinhood, the price was at $44 still. This may not generate a true arbitrage opportunity, but short-term anomalies signal traders may be rushing into an asset in expectation of a breakout soon.

The chief warning for ETC is it may not go to a higher tier in one go, with the potential to retreat to $35-$37. 

ETC mining rate also picked up in the past week, standing at a three-month high at 23.76 TH/s. ETC mining may attract former Ethereum miners looking for higher returns from a token with the potential for rapid appreciation. Even at current prices, ETC is relatively profitable to mine. 

ETH, Binance Coin (BNB) Recover Previous Levels

After weeks under $3,000, ETH regained positions to above $3,007. The network has already burned 2M tokens due to the new fee scheme introduced in August 2021, and more ETH is locked each day in the ETH 2.0 smart contract. 

Binance Coin (BNB) recovered to above $400, another level that was only briefly approached in the past weeks. 

Both assets reawakened after Bitcoin (BTC) stabilized above $42,000 with a view to regaining $46,000.

ApeCoin (APE) Fights for Recognition

Just days after its launch, APE reminded of itself, rising by nearly 15% to $13.13. APE was airdropped to Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT owners and initially moved down due to selling pressure. 

For now, APE has limited utility except its goal is to support the creation of a DAO. But APE also has a highly active marketing campaign, with giveaways and new listings or other events happening multiple times a day. APE may also appreciate due to the overwhelming expectation that all assets will move up in a new bull market stage. 

I got the feeling in my stomach that #altcoinseason is coming, and the FOMO for all the positions I haven't taken because I took others, are kicking in severely. WAGMI!

— Guille Carandini (@guillecarandini) March 23, 2022

While the asset is still in its initial weeks of trading, APE may line up among the more active tokens.