Hello Hello,
it's 2026 and altcoins are finally showing signs of life. The question now is not whether altcoins are moving, but why - and whether this move has legs.
From my sofa in the Milan suburbs, here my points:
- Renewed appetite for risk-on assets.
Markets are starting to price in the possibility that spot ETFs won’t stop at Bitcoin and Ethereum. The discussion has already expanded to a wide range of altcoins: large caps, infrastructure tokens, even more speculative assets.
Whether all these ETFs will actually be approved is secondary (I think they will). What matters is expectation. Capital moves ahead of certainty, not after it.
- Then, BTC is too institutional
Bitcoin is no longer the outsider asset.
It is increasingly institutional, regulated, tracked, custodied, filtered. That’s good for stability, but it also changes its nature.
As BTC becomes a macro asset, part of the crypto crowd - both retail and semi-professional - naturally looks elsewhere.
Altcoins represent an alternatives that still feel “crypto".
- End of US Quantitative Tightening
The US quantitative tightening phase is effectively ending, and markets are already looking ahead to a possible easing cycle . Even without immediate rate cuts, the removal of liquidity pressure matters.
Finally, I have a more uncomfortable thought beneath the surface.
With BTC and ETH relatively locked in the short term, and with altcoins roughly flat year-on-year, the market is cornered. Either:
- altcoins continue to recover and absorb risk appetite;
- crypto sector returns to the stone age.
A sustained rally in altcoins is not just optional : it’s structurally necessary if crypto wants to remain a living asset class!
Am I seeing things ?! Maybe.
- Key Dates Ahead
Before getting too comfortable, it’s worth remembering that the next few days matter.
-
January 9 → US employment data
-
January 13 → US inflation (CPI)
These numbers will feed directly into monetary policy decisions.
Altcoins can run on narrative and liquidity but macro data still has the final word. Let's hope FED won't surprise us.
- Diary
08.01.2026, h 09.40
- Betfury 417 BFG + 887 sats + other for tot 5.67$ (not considering staked BTC);
- Cointiply 58.610 coins so 5.86$ ; no surveys, good day :)
- Ember 1.520 sats, around 1.4$
- PrizeBear 7.78$
- Lootup 9610 coins so 9.61$
- CoinpayU 536 coins, 0.54$
see you soon, with love and hate,
Lazy
