TOTAL3 Must Increase 16% Before Euphoric Altcoin Season Begins: Crypto Trader

Pseudonymous crypto trader Daan Crypto Trades said in a Dec. 28 X post that the “euphoria” or “mania” phase should start once the TOTAL3

A crypto trader has claimed that the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin and Ether must increase around 16% from its current level before the euphoric altcoin season begins.

Pseudonymous crypto trader Daan Crypto Trades shared his analysis in a Dec. 28 X post, discussing the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) (known as TOTAL3). According to the trader, the euphoria or “mania” phase will begin once TOTAL3 surpasses its 2021 all-time high of $1.13 trillion and enters price discovery.

The TOTAL3 stood at $962.78 billion at the time of publication, a 91.45% increase year-to-date, according to TradingView data.

“As long as this trades between ~$840B and ~$1.1T, I think it will be choppy,” Daan said. However, he added that he would be “a bit more cautious” if the TOTAL3 fell below the $800 billion level.

Some analysts have attributed the increased volatility in the overall crypto market to traders adopting a more short-term approach compared to previous years.

“Everyone decided they were George Soros all of a sudden this cycle and constantly monitoring hourly charts to time entries/exits and playing with leverage,” Syncracy Capital co-founder Daniel Cheung said in a Dec.28 X post.

According to Cheung, this is why crypto tokens have not seen breakouts as “fast as prior cycles.”

Traders may be pivoting to altcoins for higher returnsTop three gainers among the top 100 cryptocurrencies over the past seven days are Bitget Token (BGB) with an 80.65% rise, Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) with a 42.30% rise, and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) with a 31.63% rise.

With Bitcoin dominance back up to almost 60% amid a price stall in the last few days of 2024, traders are increasingly believing that it may be time to switch their accumulation strategy toward altcoins.

“Altcoins, at this juncture, offer a far more optimal R/R [Risk Reward] profile than Bitcoin does,” pseudonymous crypto trader Dyme said in a Dec. 27 X post.

“Time to DCA Bitcoin is over for another 1.5+ years,” Dyme added.