Though its is not a myth, but the "Alt Season" you remember from 2017 or 2021 is essentially dead.
The market has fundamentally changed. If you are waiting for a "rising tide that lifts all boats"—where every random coin pumps 10x just because Bitcoin went up—you will likely be waiting forever.
Here is the cold reality of why it feels like a myth in 2026, and what the "New Alt Season" actually looks like.
1. Why the "Old" Alt Season is Dead
In previous cycles (2017, 2021), retail money flowed like a waterfall:
• Bitcoin pumped -> Profits moved to Ethereum -> Profits moved to Large Caps -> Profits moved to Junk/Low Caps.
In 2026, this waterfall is broken.
• The ETF Wall: Institutional money (BlackRock, Fidelity) is buying Bitcoin and Ethereum via ETFs. They cannot legally rotate profits into smaller, risky altcoins. When they take profit, they sell to USD, not to altcoins. The money leaves the ecosystem instead of trickling down.
• Oversupply (The Dilution Problem): In 2021, there were roughly 20,000 crypto tokens. Today, there are millions (mostly memecoins). The liquidity is too spread out. It takes significantly more money to pump the whole market now than it did 4 years ago.
• VC Unlocks: Many "tech" coins launched in 2024/2025 with low circulating supplies. Now, in 2026, huge amounts of locked tokens are being released by Venture Capitalists (VCs), creating constant selling pressure that suppresses price rallies.
2. The New Reality: "The Selective Season"
We are not getting a general "Alt Season." We are getting a "Selective Season."
This is a PvP (Player vs Player) market. For one coin to pump, another often has to bleed.
• Winners:
• The "Chosen" Few: Coins with institutional backing or ETF rumors (like XRP or SOL).
• Memecoins: Pure retail gambling has moved here. Retail traders have abandoned "complex tech coins" to gamble on memes because they feel the game is fairer (no VC unlocks).
• Real Yield: DeFi protocols that actually pay out revenue to holders (not just inflationary rewards).
• Losers:
• "Zombie" Chains: Older Layer-1 blockchains from 2017/2021 that have no real users, just bagholders waiting to break even.
• VC Coins: Tokens with high "Fully Diluted Valuation" (FDV) where early investors are dumping on retail.
3. How this affects you (XRP Context)
If you hold XRP, you are actually in a potentially better spot than holders of other "older" altcoins.
• Why? XRP is one of the few assets that bridges the gap. It is a "legacy" coin, but it has the institutional interest (ETF applications, legal clarity) that the new market demands.
• In this "Selective Season," capital will likely flow into XRP specifically because it is viewed as a "Blue Chip" alongside BTC and ETH, rather than a speculative altcoin.
Summary
"Alt Season" isn't a myth, but it has mutated.
• Old Rule: Buy anything, wait for pump.
• New Rule: Buy market leaders (ETH, SOL, XRP) or sectors with active hype. Everything else will likely bleed against Bitcoin.
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