Meme Coins Lead the Charge as Altcoin Season Predictions Heat Up

On Nov. 14, meme coins Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), PEPE, WIF, and BRETT recorded the highest gains among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, sparking predictions of an upcoming altcoin season.

PNUT Hits Record Highs
Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) surged an impressive 122.5% in a single day, pushing its market cap to over $2 billion. The meme coin reached an all-time high of $2.44 before slightly pulling back to around $2.07 at the time of writing.

PEPE Makes a Big Move
PEPE, another popular meme coin, soared by 75% in the last 24 hours, trading at $0.0000225. Its market cap reached $9.4 billion, with the coin briefly hitting an all-time high of $0.00002457. Trading volumes surged above $25 billion, showing strong market interest.

Other Meme Coins See Gains
Other meme coins like Dogwifhat (WIF), Brett (BRETT), Popcat (POPCAT), Bonk (BONK), and FLOKI also saw significant gains, ranging from 20% to 40%. Meanwhile, well-known meme coins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) posted more modest gains of 5.4% and 5.9%, respectively.

Meme Coin Surge Fuels Market Growth
The recent meme coin rally has boosted the overall market cap of the meme coin sector by 9%, reaching a new record high of $126.6 billion. This surge comes as Bitcoin continues to break new highs, following the election victory of pro-crypto U.S. President Donald Trump.

Analysts Debate Approaching Altcoin Season
The surge in altcoins, including meme tokens, has sparked widespread speculation about the potential start of an altcoin season. Analyst Miles Deutscher suggests that the market is still in the “Bitcoin phase” of the cycle, where Bitcoin dominates and continues to rally. He believes a full altcoin season will begin once Bitcoin’s dominance begins to wane.

Deutscher emphasizes that Bitcoin’s strong performance is critical to setting the stage for a robust altcoin rally. The stronger Bitcoin performs, the more capital will rotate into altcoins as dominance shifts.

Contrasting Views on Altcoin Season Timing
However, analyst Ash Crypto believes Bitcoin’s dominance, currently at 60.80%, has likely peaked for this cycle and expects the flagship cryptocurrency to start losing ground soon. He predicts that altcoin season will kick off once Bitcoin’s price begins to decline.

CryptoAmsterdam, another market commentator, concurs with this view, predicting that altcoin season will begin in the coming weeks. On the other hand, Patric H. envisions a longer timeline, suggesting the altcoin rally might not fully unfold until Bitcoin’s dominance reaches around 66%. He believes this higher dominance would create a stronger foundation for the altcoin rally and advises investors to hold their altcoin positions in anticipation.

Altcoin Index Still Low
The altcoin index is currently at 35, indicating that the market has not yet entered a true altcoin season. Historically, altcoin seasons have only started when the index climbs above 75, as seen in March 2021 and August 2022.

With the crypto market remaining highly volatile, all eyes are on Bitcoin’s dominance and the ongoing altcoin rally. As the market evolves, analysts continue to predict when the true altcoin season will materialize.