18 altcoins in the top 100 by market cap returned over 70% last month. It is the first time we have witnessed such strong price movements in the bear market. Could these rises be a preview of the next bull market? Rising coins may indicate categories that will perform well during the bull market. I will get clues about the next altcoin rally by briefly discussing the 13 altcoins.
ORDI is at the top of the list, with an increase of 400%. The Ordinals protocol, which allows defining NFTs and tokens on the Bitcoin network, has been listed by Binance. This situation was influential in the rise last month.
In second place is the FTX coin, with an increase of 268%. FTX coin has performed impressively this year despite being 95% below its ATH value. Can a stock exchange that used its customers' funds for speculative purposes without their knowledge return to its old days? It is doubtful that such a thing will happen.
The Gas token of Neo, the legendary blockchain of the 2017-2018 period, increased by 203% last month. This rise was due only to the Korea-based Upbit exchange. Therefore, carefully evaluating whether there is a sustainable increase is necessary.
Rune was another coin that attracted attention, with a monthly increase of 215%. There have been essential updates on Thorchain in the past weeks. Therefore, the increase in question is based on a rational basis.
TIA, the coin of Celestia, a new blockchain, rose 173% last month. Its creators describe Celestia as the first modular blockchain.
The following coins on the list are Kaspa, Blur, Fetch.ai, Immutable, Pancakeswap, Avalanche, Gnosis, Solana, Arweave, Gala, dYdX and Synthetix. Most of the names on the list are familiar, and a few I've heard for the first time. Kaspa is an innovative Layer 1 blockchain. Blur is an NFT marketplace token. The Gnosis blockchain is mainly used for DEFI operations.
What common themes are there in the list? Layer 1 blockchains occupy an essential place in the list. We can give examples of Gas, Celestia, Gnosis, Avalanche, and Solana. Despite the abundance of blockchains, new blockchains are finding favor with investors. If we are going to base the rapid rise we experienced last month, we need to follow Layer 1 or smart contract blockchains closely. The previous bull market was cut short due to interest rate hikes by central banks. Therefore, it is unsurprising that the themes we inherited from the prior bull market are reoccurring.
DEFI coins have also shown a remarkable performance this year. Thorchain, Pancakeswap, dYdX, and Synthetix are examples on the list. Apart from these, it is also necessary to note Injective's annual performance of more than 10x. Maker, Aave, and Chainlink also pleased their investors this year.
Another category that attracts attention is projects that provide infrastructure for games and NFTs. ORDI, ImmutableX, Gala, and Blur are examples of this category.
The rise of Fetch.ai in the Big Data & AI category last month attracted attention. Additionally, The Graph, Render, and Singularity Network were this year's stars. I approach this category cautiously because there is a big difference between the perception created by AI projects in the crypto world and the benefits they provide.
TL;DR
And the Oscar goes to... DEFI. When we consider the price movements throughout the year, we see that DEFI coins have shown strong performance. On the other hand, this performance is concentrated in the oldest, original DEFI protocols. Over time, investors may turn to smaller-scale DEFI protocols that have yet to take off. Of course, the DEFI coins on the list still have a long way to go.
Layer 1 blockchains continue to attract investor interest. It means that no difference has emerged from the previous bull market yet. DEFI, NFTs, Layer 1 Smart Contract blockchains, and metaverses became popular during the last market bull.
We also witnessed strong price movements in projects that provide infrastructure for blockchain games and NFTs. DEFI, NFTs, and games are concepts I believe in. It doesn't surprise me that they are showing signs of revival after a long winter.
After the altcoin season begins, there will probably be more movement in categories that must be emphasized. Social media may be one of these categories. Hive may become one of the prominent blockchains in this context.
Thank you for reading.