Top 4 Coins To Watch In The Much Awaited 'Altcoin Season'

The time for altcoin investors to reap the fruits of their investments earlier in the year is very near, many cryptocurrency experts said over the weekend as #altseason became a hot topic on Elon Musk's X.

There are several altcoins – cryptocurrencies beyond leader Bitcoin – that have made big moves in recent weeks, but some of them are just on another level, including XRP, which toppled two top digital assets within hours to become the world's third largest digital coin by market value.

What is Alt Season?

The "altseason" hashtag was trending throughout the weekend on X as industry experts and crypto users talked about what some think is already the beginning of the trend in crypto wherein alternative cryptocurrencies outperform Bitcoin or soar significantly.

For prominent crypto investor Elja, the alt season, or altcoin season, hasn't started and instead is coming soon. Another prominent name in the crypto space, Blockchain Bob, said he is expecting the altseason to come around and is prepared for the "impact."

Crypto YouTuber Rony Kapoor believes what's at hand "could be the biggest altseason in history," while Captain Faibik hailed traders who held on to their altcoins even during the downtimes in the past few months since "the time has come" for them to see profits.

Which altcoins have high chances of shining brighter during the altseason?

$XRP – The 'Moonvember' Key Player

XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, whose development is being overseen by fintech firm Ripple, has seen a significant surge in recent weeks, especially after U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler announced he will resign during President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

On Sunday, XRP went on to topple both Solana (SOL) and Tether (USDT) in a matter of hours to become the world's third largest crypto asset by market value – only behind Ethereum (ETH) and BTC.

XRP holders who didn't falter even when the altcoin plunged dramatically after the SEC sued Ripple late in 2020 and Gensler pursued the case relentlessly, shared their feelings of vindication and excitement on X, with many celebrating the token's breakthrough above $2.

Think Crypto Podcast founder Tony Edward sees the coin potentially surging between $5 and $8 during this cycle and may even go higher.

$ADA – The Dark Horse

The Cardano blockchain platform has seen increased activity in recent weeks, and some industry analysts believe the blockchain's native asset, ADA, is set for new highs.

The altcoin saw a staggering 218% spike in the last 30 days, as per data from CoinGecko, indicating that there is much interest around the token.

Also, whales are silently stacking up on ADA, positioning the world's 8^th largest cryptocurrency by market value to possibly climb higher amid optimism and bullish momentum in the broader crypto space.

$HBAR – The Silent Mover

Hedera (HBAR), like XRP, hit a new milestone over the weekend but was overshadowed by much buzz around XRP, given the latter's many struggles with the SEC before bouncing back to the power three.

HBAR entered CoinMarketCap's Top 20 most valuable crypto for the first time on Sunday, triggering a wave of celebrations among holders and other crypto observers who watched how slowly but surely, Hedera made its way to glory.

In the last day alone, HBAR surged by over 35% amid a staggering 334% spike in trading volume and 30-day increase above 430%. Notably, Hedera flipped Litecoin in the market cap rankings.

Industry expert Shawn Oroogle expects that "there will soon be very little HBAR to buy on exchanges" amid continuing whale activity, and it could cause "a skyrocketing price appreciation" as demand outweighs existing exchange supply.

$ALGO – The Late Bloomer

Algorand (ALGO), the super-fast blockchain that can actually compete with the likes of Ethereum and Solana, but has had difficulty getting the same level of attention and recognition, has recently been on the roll.

During the "Moonvember" period, ALGO prices were up by over 300%, and in the last 24 hours, the token's price added nearly 14%.

ALGO was among the top layer 1 tokens that had significant trading volume in the last day, accounting for 18.2% of activity among leading layer 1 crypto assets, as per Gate data.

Well-followed crypto figure Eldar said the crypto space will soon understand the "rarity" of Algorand, the energy-efficient and quantum-secure chain that's set to add staking rewards this month.

Alt Season to Breed New Leaders?

The altcoin season that's believed to possibly kick off before 2024 ends (others said it has already started) is expected to shine the spotlight on emerging blockchains and tokens that haven't been able to show their potential due to much focus on Bitcoin and other top altcoins.

Some believe digital currencies that converged with artificial intelligence (AI) agents will shine throughout the season as interest around AI and crypto booms.

Others are just looking forward to the gains they will take from their early investments beyond BTC, especially as optimism for the broader crypto industry grows.