Altcoins have a stronger cycle setup because the Fed’s balance sheet has been growing again after shrinking from 2023 to 2025, when alts lagged Bitcoin. Improving risk ratios point the same way. The outlook is not certain: the author assigns 50% odds to chop, 40% to outperformance and 10% to a decline. x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com 

Zcash and Hyperliquid could face less selling pressure because they have newer, stronger narratives than NEAR and fewer holders waiting to sell at breakeven. Their appeal this cycle rests on narrative and hype; they look like this cycle's Ether and Solana. x.com  x.com  x.com 

Hyperliquid, Zcash and NEAR would likely drop 20-30% first if bitcoin falls, and bitcoin has 10-20% downside potential. All three are strong coins, but fundamentals do not matter in that kind of sell-off. Arthur Hayes, who called them a holy trinity, picks real projects, but his timing is the issue: his last big Zcash call came near a top. x.com 

Ethena's ENA may rally after its final investor unlock once the market realizes there will not be much selling impact. The unlock follows Ethena's big buyback and fee switch announcement. x.com 

The first leg of an altcoin season is starting while bitcoin is not at an all-time high, and the disbelief once people realize it will fuel even more momentum in altcoins such as Hyperliquid, Bittensor, Chainlink and Sui. Like the late-2017 to 2018 altcoin season, it should end within a very short period. The base case is a bitcoin top around $90-93K, with a best case extending to $98-100K. x.com 

Tokens with real value capture, disciplined supply, usage-driven demand and holder alignment are worth owning; narrative tokens without them are tactical trades. Bitcoin and Ethereum stay the core, with Aave, Pendle, Bittensor and Virtuals also held; Virtuals is a higher-conviction AI pick at the center of a growing agent economy, though its value capture must improve. Arbitrum, Sui, Avalanche, Chainlink and Uniswap act like leveraged beta, with no floor when liquidity leaves. x.com 

Hyperliquid and Zcash are among the altcoins decoupling from bitcoin as crypto matures, so they no longer need bitcoin rising to do well. Privacy and AI coins in particular could fly even if bitcoin falls. x.com 

HYPE, ZEC and NEAR look ready for another massive leg higher once bitcoin finds a short-term bottom, because crypto natives, institutions and disengaged retail remain underallocated to all three. x.com 

Hyperliquid is running because it solved a specific problem: leveraged trading with CEX-like speed and liquidity without giving up custody in the old way. The market is paying for speed, liquidity, buybacks and a casino that works, not decentralization purity. HYPE's new all-time high may not signal a return of the old altseason, where capital rotated blindly into every alt; this time only venues with real usage, flow and reflexivity move first. x.com 

Trillions of dollars of tokenized assets coming onchain could drive a generational rally in Chainlink with ample patience. It has spent six to seven years moving sideways amid disillusionment since the COVID bubble, leaving it one of the market's more hated assets. x.com  x.com