- Altcoins have been moving significantly higher throughout the past few days and weeks, with the DeFi sector, in particular, seeing some immense momentum
- This comes after a multi-month phase of losses that altcoins faced, with those residing within the DeFi sector being struck particularly hard by this
- Ethereum’s recent explosive rally higher, however, helped put a firm end to this trend
- The cryptocurrency did see a retrace last night, however, and it is once again being outperformed by Bitcoin
- One trader is now noting that the aggregated market cap of altcoins compared to that of Bitcoin is painting a grim picture for the smaller tokens
Ethereum has been firmly guiding altcoins throughout the past few days and weeks, with smaller tokens closely following in its footsteps.
Although the past week has been incredibly bullish for altcoins, Bitcoin’s ongoing push past $16,000 is once against sucking the oxygen out of the room and causing many to see slight retraces.
ETH is also underperforming BTC, trading below its daily high while BTC rallies past $16,000.
Until Ethereum can match Bitcoin’s momentum and surge past $500, there’s a strong possibility that the aggregated crypto market will continue facing some slight weakness.
Ethereum Struggles to Rally Alongside Bitcoin; Striking a Blow to Altcoins
Most major altcoins are trading down from their daily highs, which this descent coming about due to Ethereum’s underperformance of Bitcoin.
As seen on multiple occasions throughout the past few weeks, altcoins tend to drift lower as Bitcoin is rallying and gain momentum once it enters a consolidation phase.
Unless Ethereum can surge past $500 in the near-term, there’s a strong possibility that this trend will persist.
Altcoins “Look Horrible” Against Bitcoin, Claims Analyst
While comparing the market cap of altcoins to that of Bitcoin, one analyst noted that there’s a good chance these tokens will face continued weakness in the near-term.
He added that Ethereum’s underperformance would contribute to this weakness.
“We have had a few good days on ALTS and ETH but ALTS / BTC chart still looks horrible. Only looking for quick in-and-outs before ‘yearly’ is retaken,” he said.
Image Courtesy of Mac. Chart via TradingView.
How Ethereum trends next will likely play a massive role in figuring out where altcoins will trend in the near-term.
Any continued weakness seen by ETH could strike a lethal blow to these tokens.
Featured image from Unsplash. Charts from TradingView.
