Market mood sours as sentiment falls into fear territory

Crypto sentiment has moved into fear as investors are temporarily holding off from taking more risks in the market. According to sentiment sources, most traders are choosing to move further away from the risk curve.

“It’s clear traders are less interested in obscure altcoins and are instead debating which major asset will break out next,” sentiment platform Santiment said in a report on Saturday.

Santiment also highlighted the increase in focus on larger-cap assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. “A heavy focus on large-caps can indicate a more cautious or ‘risk-off’ sentiment among traders,” Santiment said.

Crypto sentiment slides into fear as Bitcoin price remains indecisive

The development comes amid growing altcoin season calls from traders. However, analysts at Bitfinex have repeatedly said that it may not arrive until more crypto ETFs launch later this year. The analysis claimed that the big rally being expected from altcoins may not come until the approval of crypto ETFs, which would expose investors further down the risk curve.

Crypto investors have been eagerly waiting for the altcoin market rally as Bitcoin dominance reportedly dropped by 6% in the past 30 days. However, the analysts have claimed in a recent report that the market will experience a big rise later in the year when inflows into Bitcoin products regain momentum. “These products are likely to generate sustained, price-agnostic demand, creating the conditions for a broader re-rating across the digital asset complex,” they added.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a metric that measures overall crypto market sentiment, posted a Fear score of 44, a score that came after several neutral readings in the past two days. Some traders are also questioning the near-term direction of some of these major assets.

Analysts make Bitcoin movement predictions

In the past month, Bitcoin has been down 5.38%, while Ethereum is up by 9.44%, according to data from CoinMarketCap. However, other indicators suggest that the market is still on its way down the curve. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoins Season Index posted an altcoin season score of 56 out of 100. The indicator moves between altcoin season and Bitcoin season based on how the top 100 digital assets have performed against Bitcoin in the past 90 days.

Crypto trader Rekt Fencer mentioned that this is the final shakeout for altcoins, while MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe noted that altcoins are extremely undervalued. “I try to stay away from timing the markets with their peak. The cycle has proven that this cycle is completely different than previous cycles. I also know that #Altcoins are extremely undervalued. I’ll just see how the cycle develops and what my risk parameters say,” he said on X.

The same sentiment was shared by Bitcoin analyst Plan C. He mentioned that traders who are predicting that Bitcoin will reach a cycle high this year are just doing so for a “psychological, self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“Anyone who thinks Bitcoin has to peak in Q4 of this year does not understand statistics or probability,” the analyst said in an X post. He also argued that relying on the last three Bitcoin halving data will not provide accurate, statistically significant data.

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