Altcoins Take the Lead

For most of 2019, Bitcoin has led the crypto market. This week, however, large- and mid-cap altcoins have suddenly jumped into the spotlight and spurted higher, while Bitcoin went virtually nowhere.

To better track these kinds of trends, we use the Weiss Crypto Indexes, the only price barometers that segment the industry by sector, market cap and other factors.

And the facts they reveal provide reliable evidence of the outperformance by leading altcoins this week:

Fact #1. Altcoins rose three times faster. The Weiss 50 Crypto Ex-BTC (W50X), which excludes Bitcoin, was up by an impressive 21.22%. In contrast, the Weiss 50 Crypto Index (W50), which covers the same coins (49 plus Bitcoin), rose only 7.65%. Clearly, Bitcoin, which has been locked in a broad sideway range, was a drag on the Weiss 50.

Fact #2. Large-cap coins also lagged because of Bitcoin’s sideways action. The Weiss Large-Cap Crypto Index (WLC), including 10 coins with the largest market cap and dominated 60% by Bitcoin, rose only 6.61%.

Fact #3. Mid-caps confirm the relative strength of the altcoin rally. The Weiss Mid-Cap Crypto Index (WMC), which includes 20 altcoins, rose 19.29%, closely mimicking the price action in the Weiss 50 ex-BTC.

Fact #4. But the Weiss Small-Cap Crypto Index (WSC), with its 73 small-cap altcoins, didn’t fare nearly as well, up only 9.40% for the week.

This is a stark change from the pattern that has prevailed throughout most of 2019 …

First Stage of Crypto Bull Market:
Industry Focuses on Large-cap Projects

The Weiss Crypto Price Indexes for 2019 as a whole tell us that the dominant trend so far is a broad industry-wide consolidation, with the strongest price action among the large-cap, high-quality projects:

- The Weiss Large-Cap Index is up 131.1% on the year

- The Weiss Mid-Cap Index is up only 11.6%, and

- The Weiss Small-Cap Index is actually down 30%.

Overall, both the last week and year-to-date price trends tell us that …

With a few notable exceptions, only larger, higher-quality projects are enjoying strong interest, while smaller projects continue to be ignored. Unless this trend is reversed, many could fade into obscurity.

Best,

Juan

About the Editor

When econometrician and pro trader Juan M. Villaverde first applied his algorithms to Bitcoin years ago, he discovered a regular cyclical pattern. And he has since used it to build the world’s first crypto timing model based on cycles. Thanks to his analysis, the Weiss Ratings team has accurately picked the top and bottom of major crypto booms and busts.

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