Altcoin season chances revive again as the long-short ratio moves above 1, signaling a broader market recovery. The Russell 2000 hit a new all-time high in January, rising 7% in the first 15 days of 2026. This has increased appetite for risk-on assets, with analysts seeing potential for further upside.
Altcoins have shown strength across leading assets such as Ethereum, BNB, and Solana, supported by on-chain indicators showing long positions versus shorts above 1. Privacy coins, led by Monero, have drawn increased attention recently. Alphractel notes that long positions currently dominate over short positions, and charts suggest higher-ranked altcoins with smaller market capitalizations are posting stronger long-to-short ratios. From an investor psychology perspective, many altcoins have corrected by 80%-90%.
Crypto Patel argues that 2026 could bring an altseason larger than the 2017 and 2021 cycles combined, citing BTC’s major support level as a trigger. The BTC chart has returned to a level that previously occurred before every major altcoin cycle, reinforcing expectations of a broad rally. 2017 Rally: +423%, 2021 Rally: +503%, 2026 Projected Move: ~702%. Altseason 2026 may be bigger than 2017 and 2021 combined, according to Crypto Patel.
The Russell 2000 index, reflecting small-cap stocks, is showing major strength after hitting a fresh all-time high in January. This highlights renewed strength in U.S. small-cap stocks, setting up a strong backdrop for risk assets. In just the first 15 days of 2026, the index has risen 7%, adding about $220 billion to its market cap. Veteran trader Peter Brandt noted that the index has broken out from an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, prompting him to take a long position.
Leave a Reply