On Friday, November 15, Bitcoin’s (BTC) dominance — a metric tracking the cryptocurrency’s share of the overall market — showed readiness to climb to 65%. However, this scenario did not happen as Bitcoin’s price fell short of retesting $93,000, suggesting that the altcoin season cycle could be here.

This stagnation seems to have created an opportunity for altcoins, which have lagged significantly behind BTC. The pressing question now is whether Bitcoin dominance will continue to decline as altcoin prices surge.

Bitcoin Steps Back Amid Greedy Market

As of this writing, Bitcoin’s dominance has dropped to 60%. This decline contradicts some analysts’ expectations that Bitcoin’s price might rise as high as $100,000 within a few days.

According to BeInCrypto’s findings, this fall could also be linked to the rising performance of altcoins. Some days ago, the altcoin season index was 33. Today, according to data from Blockchaincenter, it has risen to 39.

This increase suggests that more altcoins within the top 50 are outperforming Bitcoin (BTC). Tokens like Bonk (BONK) and Ripple (XRP) have maintained their upward momentum, contributing to both the rise in altcoin’s market cap and the subsequent decline in Bitcoin dominance.

Further, the market’s extreme greed could have implications for Bitcoin’s trajectory. Currently, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which primarily gauges Bitcoin sentiment, has reached a striking “Extreme Greed” level of 90.

“Extreme Fear” typically indicates heightened investor anxiety, which can present a potential buying opportunity. Conversely, when investors become overly greedy, it typically indicates that the market may be ripe for a correction.

Therefore, considering the current outlook, it is likely that Bitcoin’s price could be due for a correction. This assertion also aligns with the sentiment of analyst Rekt Capital. According to him, altcoins might soon begin to break out as a result of Bitcoin’s dominance fall.

“Bitcoin Dominance — We are seeing the effects of the best-case scenario in full force. It’s Altcoin season.The pullback in BTC DOM to 57.68% is enabling this Altcoin Window. Continued dips to green will enable Altcoin breakouts,” Rekt Capital shared on X (formerly Twitter).

Altcoins Look to Hit Higher Highs

Meanwhile, the TOTAL2, which is the total market cap of the top 125 altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH), has reached $1.19 trillion. The last time it reached such a value was in June.

Based on the daily chart, TOTAL2 reached this point due to massive interest in altcoins and a breakout of a descending triangle. A descending triangle is typically viewed as a bearish pattern. However, it can also signify a bullish reversal if the price breaks out in the opposite direction, which is the case with the altcoins’ market cap.

Should this position accelerate, then the altcoin season could begin. But for that to happen, Bitcoin dominance has to keep falling, and the altcoin season index has to move much closer to 75 from 39.

If that happens, then the TOTAL2 could rise to $1.27 trillion. However, if Bitcoin’s price bounces above its all-time high, the altcoin season cycle may be delayed, and this prediction may be invalidated. 

Recent market dynamics have seen the XRP price surging past the psychological $1 mark for the first time since 2021. This marked a significant milestone for the XRP price, which has spent the majority of the last three years trading below $0.6. 

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The rally, driven by key market dynamics and specific holder activity, highlights the role of strategic accumulation by large stakeholders. Particularly, on-chain data shows an intriguing trend among whales, sharks, and retail wallets.

XRP Price Breakout To $1.26: Whale And Shark Accumulation Driving Surge

The XRP price climbed to $1.26 on Binance, reaching a level not seen since November 11, 2021. This three-year high comes during a broader cryptocurrency market rally, but the XRP price growth is tied to the strategic moves of its key stakeholders and an anticipated change in leadership of the US SEC. 

According to on-chain analytics platfrom Santiment, large XRP holders, specifically wallets holding between 1 million and 100 million tokens, have been instrumental in this breakout. Notably, this holder cohort consists of the sharks and whales categories. That is, semi-large and large XRP holders. 

XRP whale and shark wallets have collectively accumulated 453.3 million XRP tokens in the past week alone, pushing their total holdings to about 18% of the total supply of XRP. At the current average XRP price, this accumulation is worth around $526.3 million. The accumulation by whale and shark wallets is no coincidence. As Santiment noted, history shows that large-scale acquisitions by market participants tend to signal bullish sentiment and often precede sustained price increases. 

Interestingly, while whales and sharks have been accumulating XRP, retail traders have been offloading their holdings. Santiment reported that wallets with less than 1 million XRP have collectively sold 75.7 million tokens over the past week, worth approximately $87.9 million. However, most of these offloadings have been scooped up by shark and whale wallets to essentially counter any negative effects of the dumps.

Image from X: Santiment

What’s Next For XRP?

The massive XRP price surge has seen the cryptocurrency displacing Dogecoin in market cap rankings to regain its position as the sixth-largest asset. The XRP price is up by about 11% in the past 24 hours, while the Dogecoin price has declined by about 7%.

At the time of writing, XRP has retraced a bit from this three-year high of $1.26 and is currently trading at $1.06. Nevertheless, there is still a bullish sentiment surrounding XRP, especially if the sharks and whales can continue to hold above the $1 mark. This, in turn, is set to lead to a  simultaneous retail FUD that will fuel more growth.

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According to crypto analyst Egrag Crypto, the next bullish step is for the XRP price to close above $1.10 on the current weekly candlestick.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView

Billionaire Elon Musk and political figure Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have thrown their support behind Bitcoin advocate Howard Lutnick in the heated debate over who should become the next Treasury Secretary under President-elect Donald Trump.

Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, is competing with Scott Bessent, founder of Key Square Group, for the role. Both contenders are recognized for their pro-crypto stances, making the decision pivotal for the U.S. financial landscape.

Pro-crypto Candidates Compete for Treasury Role in Trump Administration

On November 16, Kennedy Jr., recently nominated as Secretary of Health and Human Services, endorsed Lutnick for Treasury Secretary. He praised Lutnick’s pro-crypto approach, emphasizing its potential to address pressing economic challenges like inflation, the weakening dollar, and mounting national debt.

“Bitcoin is the currency of freedom , a hedge against inflation for middle class Americans,a remedy against the dollar’s downgrade from the world’s reserve currency, and the offramp from a ruinous national debt. Bitcoin will have no stronger advocate than Howard Lutnik,” Kennedy stated.

Musk also voiced support for Lutnick. In his statement, Musk suggested that Lutnick could drive meaningful change, contrasting him with Bessent, whom he described as a “business-as-usual” candidate. According to him, there is a need for bold action to address America’s economic challenges, adding that a shake-up was necessary to avoid further decline.

“Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas Lutnick will actually enact change. Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another,” Musk chimed.

Lutnick’s leadership experience, particularly his role in rebuilding Cantor Fitzgerald, has earned him respect in the financial world. His open support for cryptocurrencies and efforts to integrate them into traditional finance, such as Cantor’s role as custodian for Tether’s assets, demonstrate his forward-thinking approach.

On the other hand, recent statements attributed to Bessent affirm his belief in crypto’s potential. This aligns with Trump’s vision of making the US the global leader in blockchain innovation. One statement reportedly attributed to him reads:

“I think everything is on the table with Bitcoin. One of the most exciting things about Bitcoin is that it brings in young people and those who have not participated in markets before. Cultivating a market culture in the US, where people believe in a system that works for them, is the centerpiece of capitalism.”

Meanwhile, the debate has extended to decentralized prediction markets, where users are divided. On Polymarket, both candidates have a 47% chance of being picked.

Observers noted that this appointment would likely set the tone for Trump’s administration, which has already demonstrated a strong pro-crypto stance by appointing several blockchain advocates to key positions. However, whether Lutnick or Bessent takes the role, the decision will have far-reaching implications for the country’s economic direction.