XRP and XLM were the big winners among the large caps as alt coins finally made the most of Bitcoin’s stagnation, with both registering almost 20% gains as the entire market turned green. Perhaps more importantly, ETH has also seen a 13.5% gain over the past 48 hours which is suggestive of a more comprehensive move, as it often acts as a bellwether for alts, but caution is still being preached by more experienced traders who aren’t getting carried away with this window of opportunity, knowing that it will only last as long as BTC remains in stasis.
IF(!) they’re truely reversing from here, it’s only the beggining of a bigger uptrend in my opinion…
There will be plenty of opportunities in the coming months with interesting setups to take on majors.
Move some funds to BitMex/Bybit/whatever, take your time, and grind!
— Pierre (@pierre_crypt0) September 18, 2019
The Alt Window Opens
The bounce, which will be welcomed by beleaguered alt coins holders, has been on the cards for some time, with many citing the rise in Bitcoin’s dominance to levels that have previously ushered in an alt coin cycle as a reason to be excited about the short term future of alts. This may well prove to be the case, but this jump in alt coins, and the potential for further gains over the next few days which undoubtedly exists, shouldn’t be considered anything more than temporary relief. True alt seasons, like we saw in late 2017 and early 2018, only occur once BTC has topped out after a major rally and the money is looking for somewhere to go to make more gains. The current pump is simply bored money being moved around looking to be multiplied, not new money coming into the system, and the entire move will end once Bitcoin decides its trajectory – if BTC goes up the money will rush out of alts and back into BTC, if it goes down then there could well be a mass exodus into cash/stablecoins.
Wait For Confirmation Before Diving In
We have seen a small number of alt coin windows this year, but it’s important not to get carried away and think that this is the start of a major rally. It could be, of course, but it’s better to wait for confirmation of this and catch the gains to come than risk losing out in the hope of smaller gains sooner. No one knows of course how long it will be until Bitcoin changes the playing field with its big move, which presents some great opportunities for those willing to take a risk or two, but many out there will simply be better off sitting and waiting. Those that were around for the 2017/18 alt coin rally know what a real alt coin season looks like and will happily sit on their hands and wait until some real gains are there to be made.
