{
  "id": 10453063,
  "title": "Altseason is coming — and traders are more discerning this time",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/altseason-is-coming-and-traders-are-more-discerning-this-time",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-28T13:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Cointelegraph",
    "slug": "cointelegraph",
    "url": "https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/altseason-is-coming-and-traders-are-more-discerning-this-time"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Altseason appears to be on the horizon as traders demonstrate increased discernment, with capital increasingly flowing toward revenue-generating protocols across various sectors. Within the past month, meme coin launchpad PONS experienced a 350% price surge, while Uniswap (UNI), Arbitrum (ARB), and AI-focused NEAR also saw substantial gains of over 110%, 150%, and 180%, respectively. Privacy token Zcash reached a record high above $1,600, and Bitcoin Layer-2 token LIT, along with memecoin launchpad token PUMP, are among the top gainers, according to CoinMarketCap. These gains across diverse sectors suggest that traders are now more selective, focusing on projects with strong business cases rather than speculative ones.\n\nBankless podcast host David Hoffman noted that the rally could be driven by utility, as evidenced by the high revenue generation of tokens like ARB, UNI, Jupiter's JUP, and Ondo's ONDO. Among the top 20 biggest gainers last week, only two were memecoins, with Pudgy Penguins being the standout performer. Sergej Kunz, co-founder of 1inch, highlighted that memecoins have been the strongest gainers among buyers in the past month, but DeFi protocols, privacy tokens, AI projects, and tokenized assets are also garnering attention.\n\nThe current market sentiment appears to favor breadth before depth, with more wallets investing in a wider range of tokens in smaller amounts. This selective participation may indicate a more discerning market, aligning with Hoffman's observation that traders are allocating into assets with actual utility. However, it remains unclear whether this trend will persist or if memecoins will continue to dominate the market. CoinMarketCap's official Altcoin Season index stands at 64 out of 100, up from 48 the previous week but still below the 75 threshold marking the start of a new season.\n\nTalos data reveals that the top 10 altcoins currently account for roughly 80% of total altcoin market capitalization, up from around 70% at the end of 2024. This concentration of capital suggests that the market is becoming more selective, focusing on specific themes such as revenue-generating protocols, onchain perpetuals, and DeFi projects like HYPE, LIT, UNI, and MORPHO. Privacy-related assets like ZEC, NEAR, and XMR, as well as AI-adjacent tokens such as VVV and TAO, are also performing strongly. Additionally, meme coin launchpads like PUMP and PONS, along with the Robinhood ecosystem and USELESS memecoin, are experiencing significant activity.\n\nWhile some analysts believe that the current altseason may have fewer winners than previous cycles, others point to the growing integration of crypto infrastructure with the real economy as a potential catalyst for sustained growth. If this trend continues, it could provide a new source of buying pressure as crypto infrastructure becomes more useful beyond the realm of trading itself.",
  "summary": "Altseason is almost here and early signs suggest traders are becoming more selective, with capital flowing into revenue-generating protocols across a number of different narratives.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}