Altcoin season isn’t over, Arthur Hayes says, but winners were easy to miss

BitMex co-founder Arthur Hayes argues that the altcoin season is an ongoing process that never truly ends, and traders often miss identifying the winners. Hayes urges traders to reconsider their approach to altcoins and pay closer attention to new, high-performing tokens, rather than relying solely on historical trends.

Hayes noted during a podcast interview with crypto enthusiast and influencer Kyle Chasse that many crypto traders are busy waiting for the next altcoin to happen, but what they fail to notice is that it is always happening. He further emphasized that the only reason they think altcoin is not there is that they do not know what went up.  

According to the BitMex executive, many crypto traders are looking out for an altcoin season that resembles the last one, as this gives them a sense of familiarity. He noted that most traders are tempted to buy what pumped last time, hoping that history repeats itself. 

Hayes uses Hyperliquid to prove point

Hayes mentioned Hyperliquid (HYPE) as one of the best stories of this crypto cycle, noting that it launched at $2 or $3 before skyrocketing to $60. He also noted that Solana crashed in 2022 to about $7 before jumping periodically to reach nearly $300 early this year.

“Again, there’s been altcoin season. You just didn’t participate in it.”

–Arthur Hayes, Co-founder of BitMex  

However, not everyone agrees with Hayes’ views on altcoin season. Some traders with differing perspectives are still waiting for the traditional crypto market to unfold in the same way, starting with Bitcoin, before capital shifts to Ethereum, and later to other smaller altcoins. 

Meanwhile, CoinQuant CEO Maen Ftoui recently claimed that older altcoins with ETFs will dominate a significant portion of the capital deployed in the next altcoin season. Bitfinex analysts previously claimed that altcoins were unlikely to see a meaningful rally until ETFs start offering exposure beyond the largest crypto assets. 

However, Hayes still believes that asking when or how the next altcoin season will occur is the wrong question. He noted that new products are introduced all the time, and it is up to traders to use their own judgment to determine what is good and what is not. He further urges traders to adjust to the times, rather than being stuck in the past.

Altcoin season index says it is not altcoin season yet

Altcoin season index data retrieved from the blockchain data aggregator BlockchainCenter.Net shows a score of 35, indicating that it is not yet an altcoin season. A quick summary reveals that it has been approximately 85 days since the last altcoin season, and the longest streak without an altcoin season was 486 days. Meanwhile, the longest season lasted 117 days, while the average length of an altcoin season has been around 17 days.

Meanwhile, several altcoins are trending today, including Chiliz (CHZ), which is trending on CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap. It is also a daily top winner based on trading volume, and it currently has a market cap of approximately $384 million. As of publication, CHZ is exchanging hands at $0.0378, representing a 1% rise in the past hour, a 25.4% increase in the past 24 hours, a 12.2% gain over the past seven days, and a 29.9% increase over the past 30 days. 

Bitlight (LIGHT) is the other daily top winner trending on CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap. It has a market cap of $113 million and is currently trading at $2.63. The price has jumped 0.1% in the past hour, 90.5% in the past 24 hours, 215.1% over the past seven days, and 234.4% over the past 30 days.

Other altcoins trending due to high trading volumes include Giggle Fund (GIGGLE), which is available on Binance. The other one is Humanity (H), which is available on Crypto.com.

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