Altcoin Performance Test Yields Surprising Results
A recent test by crypto trader VirtualBacon challenged the idea that altcoins are broadly outperforming Bitcoin. The trader compared prices on August 22 and September 9, when BTC was trading at almost the same level of $78,313 and $78,440 respectively.
Most large altcoins had barely moved, while a smaller group posted clearer gains. Ethereum (ETH) was down 1%, Ripple's XRP fell 2%, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined 2%, Tron lost 1%, and Cardano (ADA) was down 3%. However, Avalanche (AVAX) gained 2%.
The trader pointed out that six of the nine largest altcoins were within a few percentage points of their August 22 levels. This suggested that these tokens moved higher when Bitcoin rose, then gave back much of those gains when BTC stalled. VirtualBacon added that 'a coin that only moves louder than Bitcoin is still following Bitcoin.'
The test results contradict claims made by analyst Matthew Hyland, who argued that more than 100 top altcoins are outperforming Bitcoin across multiple timeframes. However, the trader noted that the gains of some altcoins came with a catch - traders needed to have owned those coins before the narratives became widely discussed.