The article argues that signs of an 'altseason' may be nearing, as Ethereum (ETH) and Solana both outpaced Bitcoin between July 19 and Oct. 19. However, Bitcoin's dominance stood at 58.6% and Ethereum's at 10.4% on Oct. 19, without the classic signal seen in 2021, when Bitcoin dominance fell sharply. The author says a strategy of buying a basket of altcoins and waiting for an altseason is outdated, and that he is buying NEAR Protocol because its fees have funded buybacks since February 2026. NEAR's Q3 2026 fees were $14.4 million, up from $1.4 million a year earlier, and buybacks totaled $3.1 million in Q3, double Q2.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗
Keywords
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
ETH/USDT
▲ Likely positiveEthereum
Relevance: low
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Layer 1 |
| Market cap | $294.2B |
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 2,473.76 |
| Change that session | +1.00% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- Ethereum, Altcoins See 'Outsized Drawdowns' Due to Macro Pressures
Ethereum, XRP and Solana fell more sharply than Bitcoin on the day, cutting total crypto market cap 2.5% to $2.8 trillion. Ethereum dropped 5.5% to $289 billion, XRP fell 5.1% to $82.4 billion, Solana slipped 3.8% to $60.6 billion, and Bitcoin lost 3.1% to $1.6 trillion. Experts cite macro pressure, including 3.7% annual consumer inflation and a 28% chance of an October rate hike on the Myriad prediction market. Derive.xyz's Nick Forster said hedging on his platform doubled as whales pulled back from spring bets, while Bitwise's Max Shannon noted $8 billion less altcoin futures open interest since early October as traders took profits. CoinShares' Luke Nolan said altcoins are most sensitive to tighter liquidity and a strong dollar, and a Bitcoin move above 80k could spark a sharp altcoin rebound.
- Crypto traders seek shelter in bitcoin as altcoins slide and ETF flows wobble
Bitcoin's share of the total crypto market value reached 60% on Wednesday, its highest level since May, even as prices across the wider market weakened. Bitcoin fell below $82,000 on Thursday after briefly rising above $84,000 the day before, while most major tokens were little changed or higher over seven days. Smaller tokens fell more sharply, with the CoinDesk Memecoin Index down more than 5%, the Computing Select Index down 3.5% and the DeFi Select Index down 2.5%. LMAX Group's Joel Kruger said the market is waiting for a fresh catalyst, while Giottus CEO Vikram Subburaj said ETF flows remain volatile and advised against chasing short-term rallies. The Federal Reserve meets on interest rates next week.
- Bitcoin reclaims its cloud as Altcoin reversal signals broaden
Bitcoin completed a daily close above the Cloud, returning to strong bullish mode, while altcoin reversal signals are broadening. Confirmation depends on the ticker and timeframe: ETH remains in daily bearish consolidation despite a four-hour Close Short, while ETH/BTC shows bullish consolidation. BTC dominance may print a daily bearish RSI reset that is not yet confirmed, and combined stablecoin dominance has closed below its daily Cloud and is now strong bearish. Several altcoins, including BNB, BCH, LTC, UNI, SUI and AAVE, have closed earlier Close Longs, but the article notes that closing a Close Long does not automatically mean a chart is in strong bullish mode.
- What Crypto Bear Market? All of These Cryptocurrencies Have Skyrocketed in Value This Year
Bitcoin is down nearly 10% year-to-date, Ethereum is down 20% and XRP is down 30%, but several altcoins have risen sharply in 2026. Hyperliquid (HYPE) is up 210% for the year with a market cap of $20 billion, helped by the launch of spot ETFs, and Zcash (ZEC) is up 128%, with Grayscale's spot Zcash ETF attracting more than $500 million in under 30 days. NEAR Protocol, repositioned for the AI agent economy, is up 240% in 2026 but still down 75% from its January 2022 all-time high. Venice Token (VVV) is up 1,300% this year with a market cap just above $1 billion. The author favors Hyperliquid, citing its popularity overseas, the recent opening of the U.S. market to perpetual futures, and implicit support from the Trump administration.
- As Bitcoin Matures, Altcoins Face a Reckoning. Here's Which Ones Have a Real Use.
The article argues many altcoins lack a real investment case, citing CoinGecko research that 53% of tokens tracked from mid-2021 through 2025 had failed. Over the 30-day period, XRP Ledger generated just $34,286 in fees, while Ripple earned $7.3 million in reserve income from its RLUSD stablecoin. Ethereum holds $144.6 billion in stablecoins and $50.2 billion in DeFi value locked, and Solana holds $15.9 billion and $5.9 billion, which the article sees as real demand. By contrast, Cardano has $64.9 million in DeFi value locked, Shibarium collected $13.04 in fees, and all Dogecoin fees go to miners. The article concludes Bitcoin, as a scarce asset with no issuer, remains the core holding.
- Bitcoin and ethereum prices today, Wednesday, October 21, 2026: Crypto to outperform stocks and gold?
Bitcoin opened at $82,940.14 on October 21, 2026, up 1.3% from Tuesday's open, and rose to $83,292.55 by 7:21 a.m. ET. Ethereum opened at $2,446.67, up 1.7%, and moved to $2,459.92 that morning. Prices have moved little over the past week and a half, though JPMorgan Asset Management expects Bitcoin to outperform stocks and gold over the long term. BlackRock has separately filed for another Bitcoin ETF aimed at investors worried about sharp losses.
Related markets
Latest news
- SoFi Launches Tokenized Deposit That Earns 4.4% and Converts to a Stablecoin
SoFi has launched SoFi Earn (SOFIE), which it calls the first national bank-issued tokenized deposit for consumers, with each token representing $1 held at SoFi Bank. Holders earn a 4.40% APY, and the funds are FDIC-insured up to applicable limits, unlike most stablecoins, while tokens can be converted one-to-one into SoFiUSD to buy crypto or move dollars on blockchain rails. Citing Federal Reserve research, SoFi says roughly $64 billion, about 21% of the stablecoin market, sits idle in forgotten or inactive wallets, and the product aims to keep that money earning. It is SoFi's fifth crypto product in under a year, following its late-2025 return to crypto trading with more than 40 tokens and the launch of SoFiUSD.
- Why Nvidia's new DSX POD could really benefit corporate America
Nvidia unveiled the DSX POD, a pre-built, pre-tested rack of chips that plugs into existing power and can get a data center running in as little as 14 days. The host says the 'AI factory in a shipping container' description is misleading, since the unit includes no building or power, and notes neoclouds often face a four-to-six-month gap between receiving chips and generating revenue. He argues the product may appeal more to corporate America, such as financial firms bringing data processing in-house and renting space for 20 racks, rather than relying on endless cloud bills.
- The UK needs a workable route to regulated DeFi access
Katie Harries, Coinbase's head of policy for Europe, argues that the FCA's proposed crypto rules could amount to a de facto ban on regulated firms providing access to DeFi. The FCA expects regulated platforms to execute customer orders only on FCA-authorized venues, but DeFi protocols have no authorized person behind them. The rules apply from October 2027, and the FCA is not writing DeFi-specific rules, applying the same standards as fully centralized trading. The author argues a ban would push activity beyond regulators' visibility, and that clear consumer information, firm responsibilities and customer consent before leaving a regulated platform would address the risks better. The article points to the EU, where ESMA has proposed allowing regulated firms to provide DeFi access, and the US, where the SEC granted an Innovation Exemption for peer-to-peer trading of tokenized stocks.
- SEEQC Demonstrates Quantum Error Correction Performance Gains with Industry First Digital Interface Optimized Decoder Architecture using NVIDIA Ising and NVQLink
SEEQC reported results from a simulated quantum processor showing that combining its chip-based pre-decoder with NVIDIA Ising, linked through SEEQC Digital Link and NVIDIA NVQLink, improved two key decoding metrics, latency and logical error rate, by approximately 50% compared with running NVIDIA Ising as a standalone pre-decoder. The company says these metrics dictate how well fault-tolerant quantum systems scale, and that specialized processing close to the QPU reduces the data sent to GPU-based classical compute. CEO John Levy said tight integration of quantum processors with HPC infrastructure will be key, while NVIDIA's Sam Stanwyck said open models and interfaces let quantum builders accelerate hardware with AI and GPUs. The next step is chip-to-chip integration of a quantum processor within advanced HPC infrastructure for quantum AI applications.
- Rockwell Automation Expands FactoryTalk Conductor with NVIDIA Nemotron Support
Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) said its FactoryTalk Conductor AI orchestration platform now supports NVIDIA Nemotron open models, giving manufacturers more deployment options. The approach lets companies keep engineering and production data in their own environments and retain control over infrastructure, governance and cost, while still using Rockwell-verified agents and skills. The platform lets users start engineering tasks through natural language and points toward agent-driven workflows in which engineers remain responsible for oversight and critical decisions.
- Why Tesla shareholders should be 'a little bit nervous' about a SpaceX merger
Tesla and SpaceX have formed special committees to discuss a possible merger, which would be the largest in history, with SpaceX valued at about $2.2 trillion and Tesla at about $1.7 trillion. One speaker warns Tesla shareholders could swap into SpaceX at about 0.7 SpaceX shares per Tesla share before any premium, with Elon Musk holding about 82% of the vote, raising the question of whether Tesla would be folded in at a discount. Dave Nadig calls the committees theatrics given Musk's 79% voting control, and says the real concern is consolidating control in one person, which makes him skeptical the deal benefits shareholders, who are exposed through index funds regardless.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.