Bitcoin dominance crumbles watch top 10 altcoins for beginners

Bitcoin dominance has fallen to 55.81% from its peak of 61.53% in November 2024. The decline in BTC dominance has paved the way for altcoin season; More than 75% of the top 100 altcoins consistently outperform Bitcoin. Let’s take an in-depth look at the top 10 altcoins for beginners to buy in December 2024.

Why is Bitcoin dominance important for altcoin investors?

Bitcoin (BTC) dominance is a percentage measure of how much of the total cryptocurrency market value belongs to BTC. This is an important metric for investors because it helps determine how capital is distributed between Bitcoin and altcoins.

More than half of the total crypto market cap at 55.81% belongs to Bitcoin, with the rest of the capital likely flowing into altcoins. Typically, a decline in Bitcoin dominance during bull markets is a sign of potentially higher returns in altcoins. Therefore, Bitcoin dominance is used to identify altcoin trading opportunities.

Bitcoin dominance is falling precipitously, marking the beginning of a alt season; This is a period in which over 75% of the top 100 altcoins have consistently outperformed BTC over a 90-day time frame. The shift is occurring in capital flows and traders are taking advantage of the opportunity by minimizing BTC risk while investing in altcoins with high liquidity.

The Bitcoin dominance chart on TradingView shows a near 5% probability of a decline at the point where the 100- and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) converge at 53%.

Bitcoin Dominance 1% Week Chart | Source: TradingView.com What makes an altcoin worth investing in?

To make the most of the altseason, beginners should consider these five points as a checklist when buying altcoins.

Basic use case and utility

The purpose of an altcoin’s real-world use case is one of the most important points to consider before purchasing a token. Questions to consider are: What is the real-world use case? How blockchain technology and token simplify an existing problem What is the altcoin’s unique value proposition?

Two altcoins that fit the criteria and are among the top 100 cryptos by market cap are Polygon (MATIC) and Chainlink (LINK). MATIC is a layer-2 scaling solution that enables faster and cheaper transactions for users while leveraging Ethereum (ETH) as the underlying security layer.

Chainlink combines smart contracts with real-world data and delivers benefits across traditional and decentralized financial institutions, crypto exchanges, and banks.

Tokens with no utility may provide short-term gains; But once the excitement surrounding the project dies down, most token holders are often left with unrealized losses.

Market value and liquidity

The market cap of an altcoin is a measure of the size and relevance of the project among investors. Large market cap projects such as Ethereum, Binance Coin (BNB) are generally considered safer than other altcoins, and in most cases the price increase potential is low to moderate. However, projects with medium and small market caps, meme coins on Base, and Ripple (XRP) have relatively higher earning potential with higher risk.

Liquidity allows investors to exit in the event of large price fluctuations or corrections.

Litecoin (LTC) is a high-market cap altcoin known for its strong liquidity and has been considered the “silver” to Bitcoin’s “gold” since its inception.

Aptos (APT) is a mid-cap token focused on scalability and security.

Development activity and team transparency

Evaluating the team behind the project and following ongoing developments are important steps to ensure that the token has a committed team.

Tracking the progress of the roadmap, determining whether the team is trustworthy within the blockchain community, and monitoring Discord or X comments about the project are other effective methods.

Cardano (ADA) is popular within the crypto community due to its rigorous academic approach and has one of the most active developer communities.

Optimism (OP), an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution, has consistent updates and a transparent development team.

Community support and adoption

Many meme coins that are criticized for lack of utility make up for the same with the support of a strong online community. This is evident from the address activity, trading volume, burn/staking participation, and airdrops announced by the project.

Altcoins with community support have a relatively larger number of supporters on forums such as Reddit, X or Telegram. Tracking project partnerships and integrations is another way to determine the token’s relevance and adoption among market participants.

Solana (SOL) reversed Ethereum in trading volume and protocol revenue on decentralized exchanges in October and November 2024, generating double-digit gains for its holders this market cycle.

Dogecoin (DOGE) started out as a meme coin, but strong community support has contributed to the growing adoption of microtransactions and revolutions in the crypto ecosystem.

Risk management: Volatility and regulatory environment

Altcoins are considered inherently riskier than Bitcoin, so beginners should evaluate volatility through historical price movements, clear listing criteria and listing on exchange platforms, regulations, and current litigation in the US and other economies.

XRP is recovering despite ongoing regulatory scrutiny as it remains a popular altcoin for cross-border payments with a clear use case on XRPLedger.

Stellar (XLM) Similar to XRP, Stellar focuses on cross-border payments and the development of central bank digital currencies with regulatory clarity.

Top 10 altcoins to buy in December 2024 to prepare for 2025 Solana (SOL)

Solana is a layer 1 token that competes with Ethereum and has outperformed Ethereum on several metrics this cycle. From decentralized exchange volume to protocol revenue to daily active users, Solana has turned Ether around and sparked a “transformation” narrative in which SOL market cap has surpassed ETH.

Between $200 and $210 is the ideal buying zone for investors on the sidelines; Resistance is the 2024 peak and the psychologically important $300 level. When SOL enters price discovery this cycle, the target is $359.

SOL/USDT daily price chart | Source: Crypto.news Ethereum (ETH)

According to on-chain metrics from derivatives trading platforms like Binance, Ethereum is likely to outperform Solana, at least in the short term. The ETH/USDT weekly price chart shows a cup and handle formation with a measured move target of $7,000.

The buy zone for Ether is between $3,200 and $3,600, with the all-time high and key resistance level at $4,878.

ETH/USDT daily price chart | Source: Crypto.news Aptos (APT)

Aptos forms a cup and handle on the weekly price chart. The buy zone for sidelined traders and new entrants is between $11.37 and $13.50. The key resistance level is $17.86 and the target for the cycle is $28.37.

APT/USDT daily price chart | Source: Crypto.news Toncoin (TON)

Toncoin has observed a W formation on the weekly price chart and the buy zone lies between $4,091 and $6. TON faces resistance at $8,288, and the target of the cycle is the 1,618 Fibonacci retracement of the rally from the May 2023 low to the 2024 high of $12,791.

TON/USDT daily price chart | Source: Crypto.news Kaspa (KAS)

Kaspa’s buy zone is between the 50-day Exponential moving average of $0.13506 and $0.15397. KAS could climb to its resistance at $0.20009 and target at $0.29098. The Tier 1 token could extend its gains this cycle along with Bitcoin and other altcoins.

KAS/USDT daily price chart | Source: Crypto.news Injective (INJ)

Among AI tokens, Injective is in the buy zone from the 50-day EMA at $22.94 to $32.39. INJ faces resistance at the 2024 high of $53.02, with the cycle target at $77.41 and the 161.80% Fib retracement of the rally at $53.02.

INJ/USDT daily price chart | Source: Crypto.news Render (RNDR)

Render is in the buy zone between $6.6178 and $8.4950, which is the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the 2024 decline in the RNDR. The token’s target for the cycle is projected at $19.9836, with INJ facing resistance at $13.6330.

RNDR/USDT daily price chart | Source: Crypto.news Brett (BRETT)

Among the meme coins, Base-based Brett is a token that could extend its gains this cycle. BRETT could clear the $0.23617 resistance and climb towards the $0.34559 target. The buy zone is between $0.15 and $0.18.

BRETT/USDT daily price chart | Source: Crypto.news Gigachad (GIGA)

Gigachad is another memecoin and although it is close to 250 in terms of market cap, the token could extend its gains this cycle. GIGA is currently in the buy zone, below the 50% Fib retracement at $0.042699.

GIGA’s cycle target is $0.121855, with resistance at $0.078100.

GIGA/USDT daily price chart | Source: TradingView Arweave (AR)

The buy zone for AR, the native token of a decentralized data storage protocol relevant to both the AI ​​and DeFi narrative, lies between the 100-day EMA at $20.98 and the 50% Fib retracement of the rally to the 2024 high at $49.55.

AR/USDT daily price chart | Source: Crypto.news Strategic considerations and risk

Total crypto market capitalization is an important metric used to determine what to expect from a portfolio of the above 10 altcoins. According to estimates, the total market value of cryptocurrencies, excluding Bitcoin, could rise to $4.47 trillion.

The increase in predicted levels means the possibility of 2x gains in the portfolio with the top 10 altcoins listed above. Factors such as the length of the alt season, Bitcoin’s performance, institutional investor interest, and capital inflows can affect market value.

Traders can expect gains of 2x to 3x this cycle at the entry points marked on the weekly charts above.

Total market cap of crypto excluding Bitcoin | Source: Tradingview

Disclosure: This article does not constitute investment advice. The content and materials on this page are for educational purposes only.