As data suggests, Bitcoin ( BTC), is now facing new competition from altcoins as it enters “alt season”.
CoinMarketCap, TradingView figures show that BTC accounts for around 41% of total crypto market capitalization. This is the lowest figure since 2022.
Bitcoin loses market cap
Altcoin markets have seen a significant rebound in recent months after suffering from the Terra LUNA (now renamed Terra Classic) — collapse.
Altcoins are now enjoying their own revival, which is a great compliment to Bitcoin bulls’ return from the 18-month lows at $17,600 in June.
CoinMarketCap reports that Bitcoin’s market share has fallen to its lowest level since mid-January. The largest altcoin Ether ( ETH) is the most prominent in recent weeks.
Ethereum’s market cap dominance has increased to 19% from the lows of 14.3% in June 19.
Bitcoin market dominance 1-week candle graph Source: TradingView
Altcoin bets are further supported by an specialized metric called “altseason”, which is a period when altcoins outperform Bitcoin as investments.
The Altcoin Season Index currently has a score of 94/100 and is showing its best altseason reading since June 2021.
The more close to zero the score, the more Bitcoin is favoured over other altcoins. Alt season is once called “75% of Top 50 coins performed better over Bitcoin over the previous season”, its description states. A “season” refers to the past 90 day.
Altcoin Season Index (screenshot). Source: Blockchaincenter.
Long Bitfinex ETH bets fall to May lows
ETH’s performance on short timeframes this week was also affected by the controversy surrounding the upcoming merge event.
Related: What’s the fork? The potential forked Ethereum token ETHW is currently trading below $100
In the 24 hour period ending on August 9, ETH/USD fell almost 7% while BTC/USD lost $1,000 in the same time frame.
The downside was caused by nerves about the August 10 United States Consumer Price Index readout, according to analysts including Michael van de Poppe .
Whale closed 300.000 long positions on Bitfinex
Let’s find out WHY this is important and WHAT it could mean for the market #Bitcoin #Ethereum #Crypto #Bitfinex #Futures pic.twitter.com/oiAotLM1Ll
— Maartunn (@JA_Maartun)
August 8, 2022
Monitoring on-chain observed that Bitfinex, a major exchange player, had dramatically reduced their long ETH exposure. This was a sign that the downside was almost certain.
Longs were still at their lowest levels as they were immediately prior to May’s Terra incident.
ETH/USD longs 1-day candle chart (Bitfinex). Source: TradingView
Van de Poppe called for restraint in the face of upcoming ETH price actions.
He tweeted “People are already setting targets of $300 and $600 for Ethereum upon the first slight correction.”
“There is no need for it, despite the fact people are deeply entangled in their biases. They won’t be objective in their market watching because of that bias.
ETH/USD 1-hour candle chart (Binance). Source: TradingView
These views and opinions are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of Cointelegraph.com. You should do your research before making any investment or trading decision.
