The altcoin market has been experiencing a significant decline in market share compared to Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, in recent months. In this challenging period, analysts are making predictions about the future. Experienced crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe suggests that the current bear market may be coming to an end and that interest in the altcoin market may increase.
The End of the Bear Market in Altcoins
Poppe stated that the altcoin market has been going through a long bear market period and that this period may finally come to an end. Especially altcoins like Chainlink (LINK) reached their peak in the LINK/BTC trading pair in August 2020, and many altcoins reached all-time highs against the US dollar in May 2021. However, almost 29 months have passed since then.
Poppe also drew attention to the next Bitcoin block reward halving, which is expected to take place in April 2024. He mentioned the developments regarding the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US and the increased geopolitical uncertainties leading to an increase in gold prices, suggesting that Bitcoin’s value may increase in the near future.
In addition, Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, has been talking about Bitcoin frequently lately, defining it as a safe haven asset. With the influence of BlackRock, it is highly likely that more institutional investors will show interest in Bitcoin and see it as digital gold.
Will Altcoins Follow a Possible Bitcoin Rally?
Market observers expect that the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF will trigger a major rally in Bitcoin and that altcoins will also follow this rally. Therefore, the start of a rally in the cryptocurrency market depends on Bitcoin. When the Bitcoin rally begins, altcoins are expected to rise as well. Additionally, in the past few weeks, some major altcoins have made significant price movements that have caught the market’s attention, supporting the idea that the bear market may be coming to an end.
In particular, Ethereum seems to be facing several significant developments following the launch of an Ethereum ETF based on futures trading. Ethereum is currently at a point where the decline in the ETH/BTC trading pair is complete. Poppe stated that this explains why Bitcoin’s dominance in the market has increased.
Referring to past bear market dynamics, Poppe said, “Currently, people think that the markets will enter a downward trend again. This is a scenario we saw in 2019. Technically, N=1. We have experience in this. If we have experience, perhaps we are slowly rising towards the Bitcoin block reward halving and we may experience a situation similar to 2015/2016 when we do not look back.”
