Despite the bearish crypto market, investors are waiting for the altcoins to rise

Just like Bitcoin (BTC), the altcoin traders are awaiting a season of the bull market environment in the coming future. From early 2022, the crypto market as a whole saw a constant drop in prices following a staggering price jump last year. In this context, there are more profit-taking open trade positions currently than there are long-term buy positions. This clearly indicates the prevailing negative market sentiment plagued by an unfavorable macro environment.

A Short Altcoin Season Incoming?

According to Santiment Insights, there has been a spurt in short positions in altcoins. The number of short positions is way higher than long-term trades in altcoins. This essentially means there are more traders betting on a price drop than those who are betting on a price rise. However, historic data shows that such scenarios would generally lead to a sudden price rise. Whether such a price bounce happens and subsequently leads to a short altcoin season remains to be seen.

"With crypto markets declining Thursday, short positions are opening up in large quantities for most altcoins as traders try to profit from prices dropping. Historically, when funding rates show significant shorts, liquidations are more common and surprise bounces can occur." However, altcoins are getting swayed by macroeconomic events and sentiments just like BTC. Whenever BTC has a price drop due to macro downturns, the altcoins to are seeing a subsequent price decline. This is essentially the same with a majority of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Almost all major altcoins are currently trading at a 70% loss from last year's peak range.

As of writing, Ripple's (XRP) price stands at $0.4368, down 5.47% in the last 24 hours, according to the price tracking platform CoinMarketCap. Cardano (ADA) is currently trading at $0.3393, down 5.16% in the last 24 hours while Solana (SOL) price stands at $28.07, down 5.36% in the last 24 hours.