Altcoins gain momentum as Ethereum leads – Is broader adoption next?

ambcryptoPublished on 2026-01-18Last updated on 2026-01-18

Abstract

The Altcoin Season Index fell to 35, signaling a critical phase as Bitcoin dominance weakened and capital rotated into altcoins. Ethereum showed resilience against Bitcoin, holding key support and testing a long-term trendline. The total crypto market cap excluding Bitcoin remained stable, forming an ascending triangle pattern suggesting potential accumulation. Several altcoins, including Monero, Chiliz, and MYX, posted significant gains, with privacy-focused assets performing strongly. Ethereum's leadership is seen as central to sustaining altcoin momentum. If the trend continues, broader altcoin adoption may follow, though failure to hold support could lead to short-term downside pressure.

The Altcoin Season Index fell to 35, marking the altcoin market’s entry into a critical phase. Bitcoin dominance weakened, prompting capital rotation into alternative assets.

Market structure indicated that altcoins were preparing for an expansion phase. Ethereum emerged as a leading driver of sentiment in the altcoin market.

Bitcoin dominance vs. Ethereum’s strength?

Ethereum showed resilience against Bitcoin, performing well amid broader market volatility. As of this writing, ETH/BTC traded at 0.03484. It held above its 2025 dip and support level despite market fluctuations.

Ethereum continued testing its long-term descending trendline, which has remained intact since 2017. Could the MACD’s early signs of a bullish crossover indicate strengthening relative strength as Bitcoin dominance fades?

Total 2 forms an ascending triangle

The Crypto Total Market Cap, excluding Bitcoin, remained stable around $1.29 trillion. The weekly chart showed an ascending triangle pattern.

This structure reflected consistent accumulation pressure, with a breakout expected to draw capital into altcoins. But could failure to hold the rising support trendline lead to short-term downside pressure?

Altcoin season index falls to 35

The Altcoin Season Index dropped to 35, marking a transitional phase in the market. Although Bitcoin still outperformed most assets, the index showed that some altcoins gained traction.

Similar index levels in the past led to periods of selective altcoin strength. These phases were followed by broader participation in the altcoin market.

Other altcoins join the rally

As the market shifted focus, several altcoins saw strong gains, confirming growing momentum. Monero [XMR] surged 85.39%, Chiliz [CHZ] gained 84.82%, and MYX climbed 82.13%.

Dash [DASH] advanced 70.61%, Zcash [ZEC] rose 60.07%, and Bitcoin Cash [BCH] increased 23.79%.

Privacy-focused assets showed strength in the altcoin market

What’s next for Bitcoin and altcoins?

As Bitcoin dominance softened, the market seemed more receptive to altcoin leadership. Ethereum’s ability to hold ETH/BTC support remained central to market direction.

If altcoins continue building momentum, Ethereum’s leadership will be essential.

Ultimately, the market’s future depends on whether altcoins can sustain momentum while Bitcoin plays a secondary role.

Final Thoughts

  • Altcoins gained momentum, with Ethereum leading the charge as Bitcoin dominance faded.
  • Privacy coins showed strength, and investing in utility-based altcoins continued to expand as momentum was sustained.

Trending Cryptos

ctr
CitreaCTR
wstusdt
wrapped stUSDTWSTUSDT
apr
aPrioriAPR
ctx
Cryptex FinanceCTX
audio
AudiusAUDIO
comp
CompoundCOMP
mantra
MantraMANTRA
waxl
AxelarWAXL
bill
Billions NetworkBILL
pyth
PYTH (Pyth)PYTH
rune
THORChainRUNE
velodrome
Velodrome FinanceVELODROME
brev
BrevisBREV
zrx
ZRX（0X）ZRX
cake
PancakeSwapCAKE

Related Questions

QWhat is the current Altcoin Season Index and what does it indicate about the market phase?

AThe Altcoin Season Index has fallen to 35, indicating that the altcoin market has entered a critical and transitional phase where Bitcoin still outperforms most assets, but some altcoins are beginning to gain traction.

QHow is Ethereum performing against Bitcoin (ETH/BTC) and what is the significance of its price level?

AEthereum is showing resilience against Bitcoin, with ETH/BTC trading at 0.03484. It is holding above its 2025 dip and a key support level, which is central to the overall market direction and altcoin sentiment.

QWhat chart pattern is formed by the total crypto market cap excluding Bitcoin, and what does it suggest?

AThe total crypto market cap excluding Bitcoin, known as 'Total 2', is forming an ascending triangle pattern on the weekly chart. This reflects consistent accumulation pressure and suggests a potential breakout that could draw more capital into altcoins.

QWhich specific altcoins have shown the strongest recent gains according to the article?

AMonero (XMR) surged 85.39%, Chiliz (CHZ) gained 84.82%, and MYX climbed 82.13%. Dash (DASH) advanced 70.61%, Zcash (ZEC) rose 60.07%, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) increased 23.79%.

QWhat is identified as a key factor for the future of the altcoin market?

AA key factor for the future is whether altcoins can sustain their current momentum while Bitcoin plays a secondary role, with Ethereum's leadership and its ability to hold support against Bitcoin being essential to this process.

Related Reads

Agent Race Ends, Super Workbench Takes Over

The era of fragmented AI agents is ending. Over the past month, China's tech giants—Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance—have simultaneously shifted strategy: instead of launching new, standalone AI agents, they are consolidating their various agent projects into unified "super workbenches." Tencent integrated its QClaw teams into WorkBuddy, a strategic product hailed as a potential third flagship after QQ and WeChat. Alibaba is merging its QoderWork, Wukong, and MuleRun agents into a new "Qianwen Office" platform under DingTalk's leadership. ByteDance rebranded its TRAE SOLO coding agent to TRAE Work, signaling a broader focus on workflow collaboration. This convergence marks a pivotal industry consensus. The initial exploration phase, where companies rapidly built numerous overlapping agents for different scenarios, proved costly and inefficient. With open-source tools eroding technical barriers, competition has shifted from agent creation to resource consolidation and cost control. Historically, platform wars are won not by creating more products, but by simplifying them—as seen with browsers unifying web access and super-apps consolidating services. Now, the "super workbench" aims to become the unified AI entry point for work. This reflects a deeper market realization: the primary audience for AI is no longer just programmers (a market in the tens of millions) but all knowledge workers (a market of billions). The real opportunity lies in augmenting everyday tasks—managing emails, documents, data, and meetings—across the entire workday. The core battleground is becoming control over the primary AI entry point that employees use daily. Tencent's WorkBuddy leverages WeChat and Tencent Docs; Alibaba's Qianwen Office taps into DingTalk's organizational data; ByteDance's TRAE Work integrates with Feishu's workflows. Whoever owns this "super workbench" gains strategic control over orchestrating enterprise data and APIs. This shift is redefining enterprise software. Traditional SaaS applications, valued for their user interfaces, will recede into the background. Their core functionalities will be exposed as standardized "Skills" or APIs for the super workbench's agents to invoke. Software value will shift from selling user seats to charging based on API calls and outcomes delivered. The evolution of agents is moving through clear stages: first as novel standalone products, then as consolidated primary work entry points, and finally as pervasive, invisible capabilities embedded into the digital fabric. The recent moves by major tech firms signal the transition from the first stage into the second, accelerating toward the third. In the end, the most successful agent technology may become invisible—like electricity or the HTTP protocol—a fundamental, unnamed infrastructure powering work itself.

marsbit16m ago

Agent Race Ends, Super Workbench Takes Over

marsbit16m ago

Michael Saylor: 110 Reasons to Oppose BIP-110

Michael Saylor presents 110 arguments against Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 110, a soft fork aimed at restricting certain non-monetary data storage uses (like inscriptions) on the Bitcoin blockchain. He acknowledges the proponents' valid concerns—such as node costs, fee pressure, and preserving Bitcoin's monetary focus—but fundamentally disagrees with the proposed solution. Saylor argues that BIP 110 represents a dangerous precedent of using consensus rules to enforce value judgments on transaction validity, moving away from Bitcoin's core principles of neutrality and permissionless innovation. His key objections are organized into eleven categories: 1) It violates neutrality and hard consensus by banning currently valid transactions. 2) It fails to meet the high burden of proof required for a consensus change, lacking concrete data on the alleged crisis. 3) Its seven bundled technical restrictions are overly broad, targeting generic script functionalities and blocking future upgrade paths. 4) It sacrifices compatibility and future optionality by closing off designed upgrade hooks. 5) Its temporary rules add significant complexity (grandfathering, expiry states) without sufficient justification. 6) The economic and security impacts, particularly on miner revenue and fee markets, are uncertain and unmodeled. 7) Superior, market-based tools (fee markets, relay/mining policies) already exist to manage blockchain load. 8) It stifles innovation by creating a chilling effect for developers. 9) Its modified activation mechanism (55% threshold, forced signaling) is aggressive and risks network splits. 10) The precedent it sets—using consensus to suppress disliked but legal uses—is more dangerous than the problem it aims to solve. 11) A better path exists: improving measurements, refining resource-based policies, and allowing market forces to work. Saylor concludes that Bitcoin's strength lies in its neutral rules, open markets, and hard consensus. Changing these foundational elements to target specific use cases is an unnecessary and risky "iatrogenic" intervention. He advocates for guarding Bitcoin's neutrality rather than acting as its redeemer.

marsbit31m ago

Michael Saylor: 110 Reasons to Oppose BIP-110

marsbit31m ago

United Stables Crosses $1B As Chainlink Data Feeds Secure U Token Collateral

United Stables' U token has surpassed $1 billion in market capitalization, with Chainlink Data Feeds providing the critical pricing and collateral data infrastructure across its deployment chains. This milestone highlights that robust oracle infrastructure is essential for stablecoin credibility, as DeFi protocols require reliable data for integration. Chainlink's role is foundational, enabling automated collateral auditing and pricing verification, which helps make the U token safer for the broader market to evaluate and use. While this strengthens Chainlink's position in the stablecoin infrastructure narrative, it does not directly guarantee increased fees or value for LINK token holders. The growth of U indicates both widening competition in the stablecoin sector and the increasing dependence of scalable stablecoins on dependable external data services.

bitcoinist1h ago

United Stables Crosses $1B As Chainlink Data Feeds Secure U Token Collateral

bitcoinist1h ago

BonkDAO Treasury Drain Shows Solana Governance Risk Is Real

The BonkDAO treasury suffered an approximately $20 million drain due to a malicious governance proposal passed through the Realms platform on Solana. This incident highlights governance as a critical attack surface for DAOs, distinct from smart contract exploits. The attack leveraged the DAO's own voting mechanics to move funds, demonstrating that flawed governance design—such as weak proposal rules or voter weight calculations—can be exploited even when the underlying blockchain functions correctly. The event serves as a warning for Solana DAOs to rigorously review and strengthen their governance safeguards, including quorum thresholds, timelocks, and execution permissions. While damaging to community trust, especially for the prominent BONK meme ecosystem, the issue is not a failure of the Solana base layer but a widespread application-level risk common across blockchain ecosystems.

bitcoinist2h ago

BonkDAO Treasury Drain Shows Solana Governance Risk Is Real

bitcoinist2h ago

Midnight Token Falls After $13M Wanchain Bridge Exploit

Midnight's NIGHT token plummeted roughly 30% following a $13.2 million exploit on a Wanchain cross-chain bridge. The attacker drained 515 million NIGHT tokens by exploiting a signature reuse flaw in the bridge's infrastructure, not the core Cardano or Midnight networks. This incident highlights the persistent vulnerability of cross-chain bridges, which are critical for asset transfers but introduce complex security risks. While the underlying blockchains remained secure, the token's price suffered due to liquidity disruption and lost market confidence. The response from Wanchain, including pausing the affected bridge and providing clear communication on recovery efforts, will be crucial for stabilizing the situation. The event serves as a reminder for traders to factor in bridge-related risks when evaluating tokens reliant on cross-chain liquidity.

bitcoinist2h ago

Midnight Token Falls After $13M Wanchain Bridge Exploit

bitcoinist2h ago

Trading

Spot

Hot Articles

Discussions

Welcome to the HTX Community. Here, you can stay informed about the latest platform developments and gain access to professional market insights. Users' opinions on the price of ETH (ETH) are presented below.

活动图片

Top Questions