In the first few months of 2020, as the collective crypto industry witnessed a boom, a strong narrative gained traction in the “Altcoins Season.” With Ethereum leading its march from the front, an unexpected collapse as a result of COVID-19 ‘s impact on the traditional market spilled cold water on the argument.
However, as observed in May, after Bitcoin’s halving momentum came to an end, other altcoins started to pick up the pace and attracted a considerable amount of attention.
Now, according to Coinmetrics’ recent state of the network report, it was indicated that another “Altcoins Season” could be on the cards.
Per the report, a radical shift has started towards the end of April. From April to May, there was a significant change in the spot-volume markets of major exchanges such as Kraken and Coinbase. It has been noted that May has turned out to be extremely positive for retail activity as online brokers such as Robinhood, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, etc. have all recorded a huge amount of activity.
Inspired by an old-school financial trait, investors might turn “overconfident” on the market and possibly try to take on more risk-on assets. As a result, the trading volume could have shifted from fiat on-ramp exchanges to those platforms that cater to a list of riskier digital assets.
From the above chart, the shift in spot trading can be observed. As pictured, major assets such as Bitcoin registered a minor dip in terms of its spot volumes as other assets such as Cardano, Ethereum Classic, THETA, and Matic facilitated an increase in the industry.
As the trading volume moved into these riskier Altcoins, the report speculated on the possibility of the beginning of an “Altcoins Season.”
Altcoins Season and its Question Marks
Now, the argument is quite constructive in the report, but a closer look is needed for assets that have improved their spot volumes.
Ethereum led the charge in the built-up, but the largest altcoin has been steadily increasing in activity due to the advancement of Ethereum 2.0.
Another increasingly active asset was Cardano, but a large part of the community believed it was due to the anticipation of Shelley Testnet.
It is therefore conceivable that the “Altcoins Season” is yet to arrive and it is imperative that the performance of another month be taken into account before filing those bags with the top altcoins.
