Author
Hongji Feng
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Fear still hangs over altcoin season, but the sharp edge of panic has softened. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index is now 25, a modest recovery from November’s plunge near 10, yet the mood remains unsettled, and traders continue to move with hesitation rather than conviction.
Bitcoin sits just above $91,000 after falling steadily from yesterday’s $92,000, marking a 2% decrease over 24 hours.
Altcoins move inside that same heavy climate. Most large names sit in the red today, liquidity stays present, but flows lean toward defense, and new money prefers short-dated trades instead of long commitments.
Against that background, Zcash is one of the few popular tokens in positive territory, while Ethereum, Solana and Hyperliquid track the downtrend, which gives a clean snapshot of where capital still experiments and where it pulls back.
Bitcoin And Sentiment After November’s Shock
Bitcoin continues to dictate the tone. Derivatives screens show a reduction in leverage across both long and short positions, while spot flows lean toward sellers who continue to trim exposure after several weeks of steady declines.
Price action carries the look of a market still searching for stability, not one ready for a quick reversal.
Bitcoin Price (Source: CoinMarketCap)
Ethereum, Solana, and Hyperliquid Track The Pullback
Major altcoins follow that direction. Ethereum is trading near $3,090 after falling by roughly 2.5% in 24 hours, with order book activity showing more supply than demand at current levels. Solana sits near $134 after a 5.5% drop, extending the cooling that began once traders reduced exposure to high beta assets.
Hyperliquid is trading around $31, down by about 8%, and activity on its perpetual pairs has slowed compared with the pace seen in early November. These moves together show how broad the retracement remains, even as volatility cools relative to last week.
Zcash Holds A Bounce After Its November Peak
Zcash breaks from the trend. ZEC is trading near $384, up by about 10% in 24 hours, marking one of the few gains across large liquid names. The token had fallen steadily from its November peak near $700, yet recent market data show more active positioning at current levels and enough liquidity across venues to support a modest rebound.
The move does not form a new upward trend on its own, but it demonstrates the way privacy focused tokens can draw interest during quieter, defensive phases when traders search for assets with a historical pattern of occasional outperformance.
What This Phase Means For Altcoin Season
The current market still lacks the conditions for a broad altcoin season. Sentiment has improved from last week’s extreme lows, yet positioning remains conservative, and flows continue to concentrate in larger, more liquid assets.
Until Bitcoin can stabilize over a longer stretch and macro uncertainty eases, rotation is likely to stay narrow and sporadic. For now, the market sits in a phase where isolated tokens can rise on their own dynamics, but the overall environment still leans toward caution rather than a full risk recovery.
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