• Altcoins have recorded notable surges, with top ones seeing double-digit gains
• However, despite this, memecoins remains a step ahead.

With 60% of the weekly top performers being altcoins, it’s clear that a shift is underway in the market. Unlike previous cycles, alts have outperformed memecoins, with Cardano [ADA] alone posting weekly gains of 25%+.

However, as these coins approach historic resistance levels – some even surpassing them – uncertainty is building around a potential correction. In fact, just recently, a wallet holder spent 235 ETH to purchase 33.35M DOGE.

While the weekend is expected to be bullish for alts, driven by BTC weak-hands dumping for gains, there’s a chance the market could repeat patterns from previous cycles.

Altcoin season might take longer to kick off

For context, a BTC top is a key precursor to triggering an altcoin season or a memecoin supercycle. The reasoning is straightforward – As weak hands exit the market, fearing a potential correction as BTC nears a critical risk zone, significant liquidity flows into high-cap coins.

DOGE, for instance, posted massive gains from mid to late October, breaking free from an 8-month consolidation, even as BTC experienced notable pullbacks during the same period.

Meanwhile, Ethereum , the world’s largest altcoin, performed underwhelmingly in the same timeframe, marking the first time ETH failed to gain traction as BTC hit a resistance level. 

However, unlike before, ETH posted a weekly gain of over 16%. This strong rebound has boosted the chances for an altcoin season, with its market cap rising by 3% to $351 billion, bringing relief to over 3 million addresses now in profit.

However, if wallet holders – who sold $500K worth of ETH for DOGE as ETH neared a key psychological level at $3K – continue this trend, it may prompt even more holders to follow suit.

As a result, the altcoin season might be delayed, with liquidity potentially flowing into memecoins. This would trigger a memecoin cycle instead.

A memecoin cycle seems more likely

DOGE’s weekly gains jumped by over 20%, outpacing altcoins, but there seemed to be more behind this rally. With Elon Musk’s ongoing endorsement of Dogecoin and his growing influence in the political realm, his support has undeniably paved the way for DOGE’s surge.

Following the election results, large holders have accumulated over $800 million in DOGE. This can be evidenced by the recent spike in its price, nearing the $0.20-mark.

Is your portfolio green? Check out the Dogecoin Profit Calculator

As a legacy memecoin, Dogecoin must lead the charge to keep other memecoins in the green. Especially since major Solana-based memecoins are still lagging behind.

The upcoming week is likely to bring shifts in the market. Given the current market dynamics, memecoins remain a step ahead of altcoins for now. However, this could change in the long term, particularly since analysts predict BTC may breach $80k next.