Separating Hype from Reality: Are Fundamentals Becoming Irrelevant in Crypto?

Believe it or not, some folks in the crypto space are still holding out for a $12k BTC, arguing that what's been happening with BTC's price action since last November is nothing more than a bear market rally. I have my doubts about that. With over six years of experience in crypto and two bear markets under my belt, I believe that Bitcoin has been in a bull market for nearly a year now.

As I've mentioned in several of my previous posts, I'm of the opinion that Bitcoin has been in a bull market for quite some time (close to a year), whereas most altcoins are still catching up. Some perform better than others, as is typical in every cycle.

If you take a look at the top 10 cryptocurrencies, you'll notice that the best performers (excluding Bitcoin) are XRP, SOL, and TRON. Now, let's see if any of you hold any of these coins or have an affinity for them. Personally, I consider Ripple a project tied to traditional banking, Solana as a blockchain striving to prove its utility, and Tron as a creation of a controversial crypto personality, Justin Sun.

None of them have the fundamentals to justify their current performance. Yet, both SOL and XRP have more than doubled from their bear market lows. ETH and HIVE have not demonstrated such gains, and in my view, they are superior to SOL, XRP, or TRON in almost every aspect. So, why are these coins surging recently?

I can't say much about TRON, although I suspect Sun is pumping it, potentially by selling off other holdings. However, I am aware that Solana has run a rather aggressive ad campaign on Twitter. Over the past few weeks, it seemed like Solana was everywhere.

Solana is now integrated with Google Cloud's BigQuery data analytics platform. It appears that Solana is following in the footsteps of Ripple by collaborating with established companies. It's a smart move, kind of...

I genuinely wish Hive were performing as well as Solana in terms of its dollar valuation because it stands out among crypto projects. But currently, Hive lacks marketing. I know "we have a rally car," and that's great, but how many rally race attendees are actually interested in crypto? How many pay attention to the sponsors of their favorite race cars and drivers? I used to be a huge fan of Ferrari during Schumacher's glory days, but apart from AMD, I can't recall any ads on the car. Chances are many of the individuals we target with Hive ads and marketing campaigns lack a genuine affinity for crypto, blockchain technology, and Web3.

Solana paid for ads that appeared on social media alongside the most active cryptopreneurs. As much as I love Hive and dismiss Solana, the latter made a wise move with its ad campaign. It has tripled in value from the absolute low of the last bear market and shows no signs of slowing down.

As much as you and I would love to see a bull market driven by fundamentals, chances are we won't witness that anytime soon. Ripple has been in the headlines for quite some time after giving the SEC a run for their money and winning the lawsuit they filed against it. Ripple is far from ideal, but it has managed to gain exposure and is currently performing well, in my opinion.

A few months from now, everything will pump once again, but as usual, some get a head start. It's disappointing that the projects deserving greater recognition are not in the spotlight. Instead, we have bank coins, AI coins, and other less promising cryptocurrencies taking center stage while the ones adding value to the crypto space remain in the shadows.

This is also true in real life, where fake gurus overshadow the true experts in almost every field. The rallies of Solana, Tron, and Ripple are clear examples of the current decline in which humanity finds itself.

Thanks for your attention,
Adrian