The Altcoin Season Is Here: HBAR, XRP, DOGE Outperform Bitcoin (BTC)

The much-awaited altcoin season is here after strengthening into December. According to Blockchain Center data, the altcoin season index reading hit a 12-month high of 82.

After a strong December showing, the altcoin season, which has been eagerly anticipated, has finally arrived.

The altcoin season index reading reached a 12-month high of 82, according to Blockchain Center data, strongly indicating an “alt season” rather than a Bitcoin [BTC] season.

Top gainers – HBAR, XRP, DOGE

The high reading was a result of substantial pumps on major tokens like Ripple [XRP], Hedera [HBAR], Stellar [XLM], and Dogecoin [DOGE], which outperformed the king coin.

HBAR has seen over 600% growth in the last 90 days, with XLM and XRP following closely behind at 515% and 402%, respectively. However, Ethereum [ETH] and Binance [BNB] both fell short of BTC.

The spectacular altcoin surge in November was fueled by a decrease in Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D).

On November 21st, BTC.D reached a peak of 60%, but it has since decreased to 54%, enabling the altcoin sector to flourish as capital flows from the king coin to other sectors.

In fact, if historical trends continue, the altcoin surge could continue. At the time of writing, OTHERS, which tracks the altcoin sector excluding the top 10 tokens, had been gaining ground against BTC over the past four weeks.

The ratio crossed a key 50-day Moving Average (MA) but was still far from overhead resistance, which halted the 2017 and 2021 rallies.

OTHERS/BTC could aim for overhead resistance if history repeats, enabling the sector to rally further, especially if BTC dominance remains minimal.

However, Ki Young Ju, the founder of CryptoQuant, warned that with more ETF players and institutions on BTC, the historical capital rotation to altcoins might not occur.

“This alt season won’t be what you anticipated It’ll be odd and difficult Only a select few will succeed in the game. The market mood is upbeat, but there isn’t much new liquidity.”

Having said that, analysts have cautioned about a potential sell-the-news event during Trump’s inauguration in January 2025. If so, it might be critical to adjust risk management before the event to preserve capital.