Crypto's "money-grabbing time"
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Crypto's "money-grabbing time"
In cryptocurrency trading, there are "garbage times" and "money-picking times." How can one better capitalize on the opportunities presented during the latter?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Joe, Foresight News
Right now, we are in the "money-picking time" of the cryptocurrency market.
In the month following Trump's election, crypto traders experienced what felt like a golden era of easy profits. Taking November 6—the day Donald Trump was elected as the next U.S. president—as the starting point, over the past month (November 6 – December 6), more than half of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap have surged over 100%. Daily doubling events became nearly routine, marking the official arrival of the “alt season” in the crypto market.
According to the latest data from Foresight News, between November 6 and December 6, 55% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap gained over 100%, 84% rose more than 50%, and 97% increased by over 30%. Among these top 100 tokens, only three saw gains below 30%: BNB (24%), XMR (24%), and Popcat (-1.56%). Even among tokens ranked 100–200 by market cap, 39% achieved over 100% growth, and 87% gained more than 30%.
In just one month, more than half of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap doubled in value. This period can truly be described as a "golden age" for the crypto market—where opportunities were everywhere (note: even the lowest-valued token among the current top 100 has a market cap exceeding $1 billion, based on post-rally figures).
So, how did this alt season begin? Why did it start? How long will such a "money-picking" alt season last? Are cryptocurrencies that didn’t surge during this alt season considered abandoned by the market? And how should ordinary crypto participants position themselves? The following analysis is relatively subjective and not investment advice—only intended for reference and record-keeping.
How Was the "Alt Season" Born?
Trump’s election is widely seen as the pivotal event that triggered this round of the crypto "alt season."
If you open the one-year price chart of any cryptocurrency, you’ll notice that November 6 stands out as a critical turning point. For investors and traders, positioning around this key moment—Trump’s election—became crucial.
On November 6, 2024, Trump defeated Harris and was elected as the next U.S. president. During his campaign, he made numerous promises supporting the development of the cryptocurrency industry, earning him the nickname "Bitcoin President." This marked the beginning of a global capital inflow into the crypto sector.
As this phase of a bull market unfolded, the focus shifted to the "flow" and "velocity" of capital within the crypto market—namely, which sectors attracted funds first, which came later; where money stayed longer, and where it moved through quickly. These dynamics became central concerns for traders.
How to Efficiently Capture the "Alt Season"?
In my view, analyzing from the perspective of Bitcoin breaking through key levels, this alt season can be roughly divided into three stages: the initiation phase, the acceleration phase, and the full takeoff phase.
(1) Initiation Phase: Lasting about one week—from November 6 to November 14—Bitcoin rose from $69,000 to $90,000. The hallmark of this stage was that Bitcoin and the Memecoin sector led the broader crypto market upward.
(2) Acceleration Phase: Spanning nine days—from November 14 to November 23—Bitcoin briefly consolidated at $90,000 before rapidly advancing toward $99,000, though it stalled just short of $100,000. During this period, major layer-1 blockchains like Solana and SUI surged, giving rise to hundreds-of-times or even thousands-of-times gainers. Daily doublings among altcoins became increasingly common.
(3) Full Takeoff Phase: Lasting two weeks—from November 23 to December 5—after consolidating near $99,000, Bitcoin finally broke above $100,000. This marked the full-blown alt season, with widespread rallies across the market—most altcoins doubled or more.
It’s evident that in the first two phases, capital primarily flowed into the year’s hottest sectors—Memecoins and popular public blockchains. By the third phase, capital began “filling the gaps,” rotating into relatively overlooked sectors and niches.
The first phase left a deep impression due to the explosive performance of Memecoins.
This phase lasted approximately one week, from November 6 to November 14. During this time, Bitcoin climbed from $69,000 to $90,000. Memecoins significantly outperformed most other sectors. Dogecoin (DOGE), the leader in the Memecoin space, surged from $0.17 to $0.46 between November 6 and November 23—a 170% increase. Top Memecoins on Solana and Base—WIF and BRETT—each gained over 100% within a week. As a highly discussed narrative this cycle, and with DOGE linked to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) amid the election, Memecoins naturally attracted early large-scale capital flows, aligning with institutional trading patterns.
Additionally, the “listing effect” of major exchanges like Binance was amplified. On November 11, Binance announced spot listings for PNUT and ACT. From November 11 to 14, PNUT surged 20x in three days, while ACT jumped 40x. Their meteoric rises only paused when Bitcoin hit the new resistance level at $90,000.
The second phase stood out due to the broad breakout of public blockchains, with two “dark horse” chains leading the charge and many alts doubling daily.
This phase lasted nine days—from November 14 to November 23—as Bitcoin advanced from $90,000 to $99,000. What stood out was the continued explosion of promising layer-1 blockchains, which, as one of the largest sectors, absorbed significant capital inflows. Solana and Sui were standout narratives in 2024 and became prime destinations for large-cap funds. From November 6 to November 23—a span of 17 days—Solana and Sui rose 73% and 100%, respectively.
During this phase, several new hundred-bagger and even thousand-bagger tokens emerged on-chain. For example, Clanker on Base surged from $2 on the 13th to $140 on the 27th before retracing, achieving a peak 70x gain within two weeks.
The third phase saw altcoins fully take off.
Lasting two weeks—from November 23 to December 5—Bitcoin consolidated near $99,000 before officially breaking $100,000. During this period, altcoins collectively soared, with most doubling within a month—some even tripling or quadrupling.
For instance, TRX surged from $0.23 to $0.44 in a single night on December 3—an 97% gain. RSR, dubbed the “U.S. SEC Chair candidate token,” jumped from under $0.01 to $0.025 between December 3 and 4, gaining 150% in 24 hours. Ondo (ONDO), the so-called “RWA leader,” rose from $1.2 to $1.72 in less than a day on December 3—nearly 50% in a day, and tripled over the month.
These tokens already had substantial market caps—many exceeding $1 billion, with some like TRX surpassing $10 billion—even managing to double overnight. At this stage, most crypto practitioners realized the alt season had arrived: it was truly “money-picking time” in the crypto world.
Between November 6 and December 6, seven cryptocurrencies outside the top 100 market cap ranks achieved gains exceeding 3x: XRP (3x), XLM (4x), HBAR (5x), ALGO (3x), IOTA (3x), PNUT (16x), and CRV (3.4x).
However, upon research, I found that aside from PNUT—which benefited from being listed on Binance at an opportune time—most of these high-performing tokens lacked broad tradability or replicability. Noted trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio commented on social media on November 16: “XRP, ADA, and DOGE performed exceptionally well, completely outperforming every other asset touched by the crypto Twitter community in the early bull phase. This was absolutely not on my radar—but I gladly accept it.”
In summary, the most important move may have been aggressively positioning around the pivotal moment of Trump’s U.S. presidential election. After that, selecting relatively strong crypto assets—such as Solana, SUI, ARB, OP, ENA—would have sufficed, as their returns were broadly similar during this window.
Rotation in Motion: Which Sectors Were Left Behind?
One month is enough for most crypto sectors to experience a rotation—but some areas still haven’t been reached.
These overlooked sectors might become the next focus of market exploration—or they might remain abandoned altogether.
My research shows that between November 6 and December 7, the following major crypto sectors were rotated into: Layer-1 blockchains (Ethereum +50%, SUI +90%, ARB +120%), stablecoins (ENA +164%), AI (WLD +106%), centralized exchanges (CEX) (Bitget +135%), decentralized exchanges (DEX) (Uniswap +100%), real-world assets (RWA) (ONDO +147%), staking and restaking (PUFFER +216%), NFTs (BLUR +100%), memecoins (DOGE +111%, PEPE +131%), metaverse (SAND +261%), DePIN (RENDER +115%), Web3 gaming (GALA +188%), and decentralized storage (FIL +121%)—over a dozen sectors in total. Most of these leaders either dominated their category or emerged as new “dark horses” within large narratives.
Yet several sectors remain under-rotated—such as Bitcoin ecosystem tokens, TON, Web3 gaming, and Web3 social—whose flagship tokens and most ecosystem projects failed to show strong performance during this otherwise “blooming everywhere” alt season.
The Bitcoin ecosystem was frequently discussed in 2024 as a hot narrative, but during the November 6–December 6 altcoin rally, its performance was lackluster. Among the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market cap, Bitcoin-based tokens like Ordi (+41%), Sats (+31%), and DOG (+55%) did not produce any coin with over 100% gains.
The TON ecosystem and narrative also drew attention throughout 2024 and saw multiple tokens listed on major exchanges, yet overall performance remained weak. TON itself gained 44%, NOT 53%, and DOGS 51%. Other TON ecosystem tokens have yet to enter the top 200, and most within the top 500 failed to achieve 100%+ returns.
Web3 gaming is another case. While GALA, the highest-market-cap token in the sector, gained 188%, this strength was largely infrastructure-related. At the individual game product level, tokens like GMT and ACE gained over 50% but fell short of 100%, suggesting the market hasn’t fully embraced them yet.
Web3 social follows a similar pattern. In the top 200 crypto market cap list during this period, no Web3 social-related token made the cut. This suggests the Web3 social track is still in its early stages, with the market yet to identify compelling investment opportunities within it.
Still, while these sectors underperformed, it may simply mean the rotation isn’t over—structural opportunities could still emerge.
How Long Will the Alt Season Last?
The alt season has now lasted a full month. When it will end has become a key market concern.
I believe the timing of the alt season’s end should be assessed over weekly or biweekly intervals. The first month of this alt season consisted of three phases: initiation (Bitcoin $69K → $90K), acceleration ($90K → $99K), and full bloom ($99K → breaking $100K). The first phase lasted one week (Nov 6–14), the second nine days (Nov 14–23), and the third two weeks (Nov 23–Dec 5).
If Bitcoin fails to make new highs over the next one or two weeks—for example, if it doesn't break $110,000—it could signal insufficient new liquidity, potentially marking the end of the alt season. Similarly, Ethereum’s trajectory matters: if ETH fails to push beyond $4,000 from its current base, it may indicate waning momentum.
Additionally, the U.S. Ethereum spot ETF has seen seven consecutive days of net inflows. A shift to net outflows could signal a turning point in this alt season.
The altcoin market now spans hundreds of billions of dollars, creating its own market dynamics.
An alt season typically begins with a major catalyst—such as the approval of U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs on January 10, or Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election on November 6. After each of these events, the crypto market entered a frenzied bull run lasting one or even several months.
Yet capital flowing into crypto is finite—so every alt season must eventually end. The more intense the rally, the shorter its duration tends to be. If Bitcoin and Ethereum fail to reach new highs within the next week or two, that could serve as a warning sign worth watching.
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