The bearish streak that began at the end of that year (just as the initial futures contracts gained strength) became more pronounced throughout 2018 and seems to have diminished in intensity during the initial quarter of 2019.
Since 2017, the crypto market has not had good times.
In an essay published by Hacked and replicated by The Bitcoinist, Mati Greenspan points out that from a technical analysis standpoint, Bitcoin trading is lagging behind the rest of the cryptocurrencies, something that many experts see as a sign of increasing influence of altcoins in the whole crypto trading market.
Alt Season Is Here!
Also, Bitcoin’s modest price variation makes it unappealing for traders accustomed to more volatile and risky markets.
While Bitcoin maintains a low variability in prices and volume, other cryptocurrencies have tripled their numbers, with noticeable gains that stimulate the growth of their market cap:
“Of course, there’s no telling how long this could last but the signs are all in place. Global volume across crypto exchanges is holding steady at around $30 billion per day, yet Bitcoin’s volume is less than a third of that figure. Sure, Bitcoin exchange volumes are still about double what they were in early February, but some coins like Litecoin, EOS, and BNB have more than tripled their daily volumes in the same time frame.”
This behavior, along with the active development of several projects based on blockchain technologies seems to have aroused the interest of traders and crypto enthusiasts, however, while previously Bitcoin grabbed everyone’s attention, 2019 appears to be the year of altcoins and so has been “decreed” by Mati Greenspan, one of the most respected analysts not only in the community of cryptocurrencies but among traders of diverse financial instruments.
Alt Season Means Good News for Bitcoin
However, the alt season has also benefited Bitcoin trading: Being the most widely used cryptocurrency, it forces traders to operate with this cryptocurrency as the base for most of their trading pairs, increasing its demand.
He also illustrates that there has been a decline in the number of Bitcoin transactions over the last few days, indicating that users might prefer other currencies although the Bitcoin dominance index still gives BTC over 50% of strength.
Number of BTC Transactions.
The community seems to share Mr. Greenspan’s sentiment. On “Crypto Twitter” (and also Reddit) several users have talked about not only to a possible reversal of the bearish trend but also about the end of the infamous “crypto winter.”
If this is true, happy trading! But please remember: Never invest more than you can afford to lose.
