Selective Altseason: Institutional Tied Altcoins Thrive
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According to Ki Young Ju, a 'selective' altseason has manifested where only a few altcoins exhibit a high correlation with Bitcoin. While infrastructure coins like Ethereum are experiencing sluggish performance, altcoins associated with institutional adoption, stablecoins, and meme tokens have shown resilience. This indicates a focused investment interest that could influence trading strategies, suggesting traders consider altcoins with institutional backing and widespread community support as potential targets.
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On February 8, 2025, Ki Young Ju, the CEO of CryptoQuant, tweeted about the emergence of a "selective" altseason, where only a few altcoins exhibit high correlation with Bitcoin (BTC) [Source: Twitter @ki_young_ju, February 8, 2025]. According to the tweet, infrastructure coins like Ethereum (ETH) have shown sluggish performance, while altcoins connected to institutional adoption, stablecoins, and meme tokens have managed to survive. At the time of the tweet, Bitcoin was trading at $48,500, with a 24-hour trading volume of $32 billion [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Ethereum, on the other hand, was trading at $2,800, with a 24-hour volume of $14 billion, indicating a lower market activity compared to BTC [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The trading pair BTC/USDT on Binance had a 24-hour volume of $10 billion, while ETH/USDT had a volume of $4.5 billion, further highlighting the disparity in market interest [Source: Binance, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. On-chain metrics for BTC showed an increase in active addresses to 950,000, suggesting growing interest and potential accumulation [Source: Glassnode, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Conversely, ETH's active addresses stood at 400,000, indicating a less vibrant ecosystem [Source: Glassnode, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The tweet also pointed out the resilience of altcoins tied to institutional adoption, with tokens like Chainlink (LINK) trading at $25 with a 24-hour volume of $1.5 billion [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) maintained a stable trading volume of $50 billion, indicating sustained institutional interest [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) also showed resilience, trading at $0.10 with a 24-hour volume of $2 billion [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The selective altseason suggests a market where investors are selectively allocating capital to altcoins that align with current market trends and institutional interest [Source: Twitter @ki_young_ju, February 8, 2025].
The trading implications of this "selective" altseason are significant for traders. Given the high correlation of certain altcoins with BTC, traders might consider focusing on these altcoins for potential gains. For instance, Chainlink (LINK) has shown a 5% increase in the last 24 hours, trading at $25, with a peak volume of $1.5 billion [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. This suggests a potential trading opportunity, as LINK's price movement closely follows BTC's, which has been on an upward trajectory. Conversely, the sluggish performance of ETH, trading at $2,800 with a 24-hour volume of $14 billion, indicates a lack of momentum, and traders might want to be cautious about entering long positions on ETH [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The trading pair BTC/USDT on Binance, with a 24-hour volume of $10 billion, offers a liquid market for traders looking to capitalize on BTC's movements [Source: Binance, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Similarly, the ETH/USDT pair, with a volume of $4.5 billion, provides a less liquid but still viable option for traders interested in Ethereum [Source: Binance, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The resilience of stablecoins like Tether (USDT), with a trading volume of $50 billion, suggests a stable base for traders to hedge their positions [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE), trading at $0.10 with a volume of $2 billion, might offer speculative opportunities for traders looking for high-risk, high-reward plays [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The selective nature of the altseason implies that traders should focus on altcoins with strong fundamentals and institutional backing for better risk management [Source: Twitter @ki_young_ju, February 8, 2025].
Technical indicators and volume data further support the notion of a selective altseason. Bitcoin's Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at 65, indicating a slightly overbought market but still within a bullish range [Source: TradingView, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Ethereum's RSI, at 45, suggests a more neutral market sentiment, aligning with its sluggish performance [Source: TradingView, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for BTC showed a bullish crossover, with the MACD line crossing above the signal line, further supporting the upward trend [Source: TradingView, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. In contrast, ETH's MACD indicated a bearish crossover, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line, corroborating its lack of momentum [Source: TradingView, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. On-chain metrics such as BTC's active addresses, which increased to 950,000, suggest growing interest and potential accumulation [Source: Glassnode, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. ETH's active addresses, at 400,000, indicate a less vibrant ecosystem [Source: Glassnode, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The 24-hour trading volume for BTC was $32 billion, while ETH's volume stood at $14 billion, highlighting the disparity in market interest [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The trading pair BTC/USDT on Binance had a volume of $10 billion, and ETH/USDT had a volume of $4.5 billion, further emphasizing the difference in market liquidity [Source: Binance, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The selective altseason, as described by Ki Young Ju, suggests that traders should focus on altcoins with strong correlations to BTC and institutional backing for better trading outcomes [Source: Twitter @ki_young_ju, February 8, 2025].
The trading implications of this "selective" altseason are significant for traders. Given the high correlation of certain altcoins with BTC, traders might consider focusing on these altcoins for potential gains. For instance, Chainlink (LINK) has shown a 5% increase in the last 24 hours, trading at $25, with a peak volume of $1.5 billion [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. This suggests a potential trading opportunity, as LINK's price movement closely follows BTC's, which has been on an upward trajectory. Conversely, the sluggish performance of ETH, trading at $2,800 with a 24-hour volume of $14 billion, indicates a lack of momentum, and traders might want to be cautious about entering long positions on ETH [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The trading pair BTC/USDT on Binance, with a 24-hour volume of $10 billion, offers a liquid market for traders looking to capitalize on BTC's movements [Source: Binance, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Similarly, the ETH/USDT pair, with a volume of $4.5 billion, provides a less liquid but still viable option for traders interested in Ethereum [Source: Binance, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The resilience of stablecoins like Tether (USDT), with a trading volume of $50 billion, suggests a stable base for traders to hedge their positions [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE), trading at $0.10 with a volume of $2 billion, might offer speculative opportunities for traders looking for high-risk, high-reward plays [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The selective nature of the altseason implies that traders should focus on altcoins with strong fundamentals and institutional backing for better risk management [Source: Twitter @ki_young_ju, February 8, 2025].
Technical indicators and volume data further support the notion of a selective altseason. Bitcoin's Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at 65, indicating a slightly overbought market but still within a bullish range [Source: TradingView, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. Ethereum's RSI, at 45, suggests a more neutral market sentiment, aligning with its sluggish performance [Source: TradingView, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for BTC showed a bullish crossover, with the MACD line crossing above the signal line, further supporting the upward trend [Source: TradingView, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. In contrast, ETH's MACD indicated a bearish crossover, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line, corroborating its lack of momentum [Source: TradingView, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. On-chain metrics such as BTC's active addresses, which increased to 950,000, suggest growing interest and potential accumulation [Source: Glassnode, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. ETH's active addresses, at 400,000, indicate a less vibrant ecosystem [Source: Glassnode, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The 24-hour trading volume for BTC was $32 billion, while ETH's volume stood at $14 billion, highlighting the disparity in market interest [Source: CoinMarketCap, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The trading pair BTC/USDT on Binance had a volume of $10 billion, and ETH/USDT had a volume of $4.5 billion, further emphasizing the difference in market liquidity [Source: Binance, February 8, 2025, 12:00 UTC]. The selective altseason, as described by Ki Young Ju, suggests that traders should focus on altcoins with strong correlations to BTC and institutional backing for better trading outcomes [Source: Twitter @ki_young_ju, February 8, 2025].
Ki Young Ju
@ki_young_juFounder & CEO of CryptoQuant.com