In the last few weeks, an important event has occurred regarding the main altcoins in the crypto market, so much so that a specific analysis is needed to understand the impact even and especially in the long term.
This is the entry into the top 10 of Toncoin, a cryptocurrency that until a few months ago was decidedly far from the top.
Summary
Analysis of the main altcoins on the crypto market
In the top 10 of the main cryptocurrencies by market capitalization there are also Bitcoin, which is not an altcoin, and two stablecoins, which are not real cryptocurrencies (USDT and USDC).
Excluding these three cryptos, there are seven left to analyze.
Until a few months ago, the SHIB token from Shiba Inu was also included in this top 10, which is a bit strange considering it is a memecoin to include among the main crypto projects. For example, Avalanche, Tron, and Polkadot are not in the top 10, and this strongly contrasts with the presence of SHIB in the group of major altcoins.
However, with Toncoin SHIB entering the top 10, it has exited this exclusive group, making the analysis a bit more meaningful.
To be honest, excluding Bitcoin, USDT, USDC, and SHIB, the top ten altcoins by market capitalization would also include AVAX, TRX, and DOT, but it’s better to focus on the overall top 10, which only includes cryptos with a market capitalization of over $15 billion.
The main altcoin
Obviously among altcoins the main one is Ethereum, second only to Bitcoin in terms of market capitalization.
Actually, to tell the truth, Ethereum has really taken off in the crypto sector, so much so that if Bitcoin is a story in itself, perhaps ETH should now be considered as a cryptocurrency different from the other altcoins that is following its own very particular path, although always linked to that of Bitcoin.
There is one thing, however, that is surprising about ETH compared to BTC: during 2024, the main altcoin did not reach new all-time highs, as the main cryptocurrency in the world did.
In addition, the maximum price of ETH in the last 13 months (around $4,000) has not even really come close to the historical highs of 2021, when it reached $4,900.
Moreover, in the last 30 days it has lost almost 25%, while BTC is only losing 14% from its highs.
It is possible that the bull run that started in October of last year is completely and absolutely driven only by Bitcoin, with Ethereum just following closely a few steps behind.
Even the price of ETH in BTC is close to the lows of May 2021, and the ratio between the market capitalization of Bitcoin and that of Ethereum has risen to about 3.4 times.
All this clearly indicates that there is no altseason currently underway, even though the price of BTC has stopped rising.
The rest of the podium in the crypto market: analysis of altcoins after Ethereum
Excluding stablecoins, the third cryptocurrency by market capitalization is BNB, while the fourth is SOL from Solana.
These are two crypto projects that have been around for a few years now, although BNB dates back to 2017 and is supported by the world’s largest crypto exchange (Binance).
After Bitcoin and Ethereum there is precisely this couple, whose fortunes however seem to depend on those of Bitcoin.
It is worth noting that Solana has recorded an incredible 2023 with performances, with the price of SOL going from less than $10 to over $100. However, it has not yet managed to surpass BNB for the third place in market capitalization.
However, limiting ourselves to 2024, it is BNB that wins, with a +74% that puts it at the top of the top 5 for gains during the year.
Even more curious is the fact that BNB in the last 30 days is losing just over 4%, as much as BTC, while SOL is at -25%.
In other words, in recent weeks BNB is performing similarly to Bitcoin, while Solana is performing similarly to Ethereum.
Toncoin’s entry into the top 10
At the sixth place, excluding stablecoins, there is XRP.
However, Ripple’s cryptocurrency is not performing well at all in terms of price.
Not only does it lose 18% compared to 30 days ago, but it is also the only one of the top 9 to lose since the beginning of the year (-19%).
Furthermore, its market capitalization of about 27 billion dollars makes it theoretically easily surpassable, both by Toncoin and Dogecoin.
Actually, a few days ago TON from Toncoin briefly surpassed XRP in market capitalization, but with a -7% in the last seven days, it has fallen back behind Dogecoin.
After XRP there is DOGE of Dogecoin, with 22.5 billion dollars, followed by TON with 22.2.
However, Dogecoin, despite an excellent 2024 with a +74% comparable to that of BNB, in the last 30 days has limited its gains to 8%, and in the last seven days it is losing 17%.
Instead TON since the beginning of the year is at 177%, with +82% in the last 30 days and only -7% in the last seven.
Since the upward trend on the medium/long term of Toncoin may not have ended, it would not be surprising if in the coming weeks or months it could surpass both DOGE and XRP again.
It closes the top 10 ADA of Cardano, which is going through a difficult time. It is down by -21% from last week, but above all it is down by -23% since the beginning of the year. The only cryptocurrency along with XRP in the top 10 to have negative price performance so far in 2024.
