Altcoin season may be on the horizon as key narratives gain momentum in the crypto space. AI tokens and meme coins are capturing the spotlight, driving 50.4% of the narrative mindshare and signaling a shift in investor focus.

This trend is complemented by the rising market cap of altcoins, now at $837 billion, its highest level since early 2022. With altcoins still 35% below their peak, the stage is set for significant growth as capital flows away from BTC and ETH into emerging opportunities.

Memes and AI Leading the Narrative Mindshare

The emergence of strong narratives often signals the start of an altseason. When distinct themes gain traction, they drive attention and capital away from major players like BTC and ETH.

Currently, AI and meme coins are leading the way, capturing 50.4% of the narrative mindshare in the crypto space. This reflects a growing shift in focus toward these themes, setting the stage for broader altcoin season momentum.

AI coins lead with 27.76% of the narrative share, while memes trail at 22.64%, highlighting rising user interest in specific categories. As both narratives gain traction, capital is likely to move into altcoins. This could reduce BTC and ETH dominance, benefiting the overall altcoin market.

Altseason Could Spark a 35% Growth

The current market cap of crypto, excluding BTC and ETH, has reached $837 billion. This is the highest value since early 2022, reflecting a resurgence in interest for altcoins.

Despite this growth, the figure remains significantly below its peak of $1.13 trillion in November 2021, highlighting room for further recovery.

At 35% below its all-time high, the altcoin market still appears undervalued compared to the broader crypto space. This gap suggests the potential for a significant surge as investors rotate capital from BTC and ETH into alternative coins.

With rising interest in new opportunities, altcoins could see substantial growth in the coming weeks, sparking a new altseason for this cycle.

The Ethereum address attributed to Vitalik Buterin has moved 32 ETH to Base and minted 400 Patron NFTs. These NFTs are part of the Truemarkets Fair launch, where over 40% of the TRUE token supply will be allocated to Patron holders during the upcoming token generation event (TGE). 

Infinex, a decentralized trading platform from Synthetix, previously raised $65.3 million through the sale of Patron NFTs. 

Does Vitalik Buterin’s Alleged Transaction Signal an NFT Comeback?

The transaction from the ‘vitalik.eth’ address has fueled optimism within the community about a potential NFT comeback in the current bull market. The broader crypto market has shown a strong upward trend, leading some to hope for a revival of the 2021 NFT boom. 

During that time, NFTs like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) fetched millions. Recent price surges suggest renewed interest, with BAYC floor prices more than doubling in weeks. 

Similarly, the cheapest CryptoPunks now trade for around $112,000, with the collection’s total market value exceeding $1.6 billion. Rare pieces from these collections continue to command significantly higher prices.

Despite these signs of revival, the NFT market has struggled throughout 2024. Data shows that 98% of NFT collections saw minimal trading activity, reflecting a saturated market. 

Only 0.2% of NFT drops were profitable, with most losing over half their value within days, signaling a challenging environment for investors.

Meanwhile, Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network, surpassed 1 billion transactions within a year. However, its commemorative NFT sparked controversy for allegedly copying digital artist Chris Biron’s work. 

In response, Base apologized, committed the NFT proceeds to Biron, and pledged to improve its vetting process.

Also, earlier this month, blockchain investigator ZachXBT’s NFT project inadvertently created a $15 million meme coin due to Zora protocol’s auto-generated ERC-20 feature. Although intended as an archival project, it has since become the subject of speculative trading.

Meme coins continue to dominate today’s trending altcoins, highlighting the ongoing meme coin supercycle in the crypto market.

BeInCrypto reports that the surge in interest and price appreciation has fueled their popularity. As of November 19, the top trending altcoins are ai16z (AI16Z), Sui (SUI), and Ponke (PONKE).

ai16z (AI16Z)

AI16Z is one of the trending altcoins because it is a token built on the buzzing AI agent narrative. Over the last seven days, the AI16Z price has increased by 345%. However, it has dropped by 26% within the last 24 hours. 

On the 1-hour chart, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has fallen below the 50.00 neutral line. This indicates bearish momentum around the altcoin. Should this remain the same, then the AI16Z price could drop toward $0.20.

However, if momentum turns bullish, this could change. In that scenario, the altcoin’s price could jump toward $0.60.

Sui (SUI)

SUI is once again on the list of trending altcoins as its volume continues to climb. However, the altcoin’s price has hovered around the same region since yesterday — notably at $3.73. 

Despite that, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) reading has stayed positive. The MACD is a technical oscillator that measures momentum. When it is positive, momentum is bullish. 

On the other hand, a negative reading of the MACD suggests that the reading is bearish. Since it is the former, this indicates that the SUI’s price might continue to climb — this time, above $4. However, if selling pressure rises, this outlook could change, and the altcoin might drop below $3.

Ponke (PONKE)

Last on the list of trending altcoins is PONKE, a Solana-based meme coin. Ponke is trending basically because Bithumb, the South Korean-based crypto exchange, disclosed that it has listed the token.

As a result, PONKE’s price has increased by 11% and 5% away from hitting a new all-time high. On the 4-hour chart, the Bull Bear Power (BBP), which measures the strength of buyers to sellers, indicates that bulls are in control. 

Should this remain the same, PONKE could climb above $0.85 from $0.79. However, if bears take control, that might not happen. Instead, the altcoin could decline to $0.69.