In past years, a “Bitcoin boom” often meant an “altcoin party” wasn’t far behind. Once Bitcoin rallied, almost every other crypto coin (altcoins) followed suit, with prices soaring across the board. But today’s crypto market is different.
According to experts, we’ve entered a new era—one where not every coin pumps during an alt season. Now, it’s more about quality than quantity.
“The days when everything used to go up are likely over,” said Hitesh Malviya, founder of the crypto research tool DYOR, in a chat with BeInCrypto.
Old Altcoin Seasons vs. What’s Happening Now
In the past, during altcoin seasons, Bitcoin’s dominance (its share of the total crypto market) would drop, and other coins would take off. For example, in 2017, coins like Ripple (XRP) and Litecoin (LTC) saw gains of over 10,000% in a matter of months. Even in 2021, meme coins like Dogecoin surged by more than 12,000%, driven by hype and social media.
But those broad rallies might be history now.
“What we saw before was more like a bubble that built up and burst over two bull and two bear cycles,” Malviya explained.
Now, instead of “everything going up,” the market is focusing more on solid projects—those with real-world use, growing communities, and actual income.
Where’s the Money Going Now?
Malviya says investors now chase “narratives.” That means money flows to whatever theme is hot at the moment.
In the past 90 days, there have been small “mini-seasons” where certain types of coins took off:
- Meme coins in early 2021 (e.g., Dogecoin, Shiba Inu)
- AI-related tokens in 2023
- DeFi (Decentralized Finance) projects in 2020
- Metaverse and gaming tokens after Facebook rebranded to Meta in late 2021
Smart investors look at social media, developer activity, and news stories to catch these trends early.
“Just like in stock markets, where some sectors outperform others, crypto now follows the same path,” said Malviya.
How to Spot Potential Altcoin Winners
So how do you pick the right altcoin when the market’s shaky?
Malviya suggests looking for altcoins that stay strong even when Bitcoin is dropping. If a coin holds its value or goes up during a downtrend, that’s a sign of real demand—maybe even early accumulation by big players.
DYOR tracks something called Optimised Relative Strength—basically, a way to see which coins are performing better than the rest in the past 7, 30, or 90 days.
“If a coin is doing well even when the whole market is down, there’s a good chance it’ll lead when things recover,” he said.
Malviya recommends keeping an eye on a few key metrics that show how strong a project really is:
- DEX Volume – If more people are trading a coin on decentralized exchanges, it’s a good sign.
- TVL (Total Value Locked) – Shows how much crypto is deposited in a DeFi project, meaning people trust it.
- Derivatives Volume – High trading activity in futures and options shows trader interest.
- Oracle TVS (Total Value Secured) – More data secured by oracles like Chainlink means more usage.
- DePIN Revenue – Coins from real-world utility projects earning actual revenue (e.g., Helium, Render) are seen as more reliable.
Even if a project sounds great, bad token design can ruin it.
Good tokenomics = fair token distribution, real utility, and controlled supply.
Bad tokenomics = too many tokens released too fast, insider-heavy supply, or no reason to hold the token.“Tokens are supposed to drive real user interest, but if they’re mismanaged, they can backfire and kill the project,” Malviya warned.
For example:
- Axie Infinity (AXS) soared in 2021 but crashed after too many tokens flooded the market.
- LUNA collapsed in 2022 due to flawed tokenomics tied to its UST stablecoin.
Malviya shared some tools retail investors can use to do smarter research:
- DYOR – Shows strength data on 200+ coins, tokenomics of 70+ coins, and in-depth research reports.
- DeFiLlama – Tracks total value locked and volume across many chains.
- Dune Analytics – Lets users explore custom dashboards with real on-chain data.
“If you want to find the next altcoin winner, learn how to use DeFiLlama and Dune. There’s gold in those dashboards—you just have to dig it up,” said Malviya.
The altcoin market isn’t what it used to be. To succeed now, you need to:
- Focus on strong fundamentals
- Catch early trends
- Use on-chain data and tokenomics to guide your picks
Gone are the days of buying any coin and hoping for 10x returns. But with the right tools and mindset, there are still big winners to be found.
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