Altcoin market weakness doesn’t mean every token is finished, but CryptoQuant CEO says investors should reject coins that rely only on hype.
The altcoin market might not be dead, but projects built only on narratives are losing relevance as investors shift toward revenue and real businesses, said Ki Young Ju, CEO of crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant.
In a June 17 thread on X, Ki suggested that the era of making money by simply issuing a token is over. He said:
“Altcoins are not dead. Narrative-only altcoins are. The era of making money just by issuing a token is over.”
Read also: JPMorgan: Ethereum and Altcoins Will Continue to Lag Behind Bitcoin
Real Businesses Over Token Hype
Although narratives continue to play a crucial role in crypto, according to Ki, story is no longer sufficient. Altcoin survivors in the long run will require not only good stories but also good businesses and exposure to financial trends.
He divided the surviving group into three categories. The first includes global internet companies with tokenized market layers.
Ki pointed to BNB▼$606.50, Binance’s exchange token, and GRAM▼$1.67, a token he linked to Telegram’s TON ecosystem, as examples of assets tied to large businesses. He wrote:
“These are real businesses with actual revenue, long-term commitment, and strong execution. These tokens can offer exposure to their underlying ecosystems.”
The CryptoQuant CEO added that some tokens could become a way for tradfi investors to gain exposure to large crypto-linked ecosystems, but only if those ecosystems keep growing.
The second category is DeFi services with real revenue. Ki mentioned Hyperliquid, a decentralized crypto perps exchange, and other DeFi protocols that generate revenue from user activity.
Old Altseason Model Looks Weaker
Ki’s third category includes projects aligned with larger financial trends such as stablecoins, real-world assets, tokenized stocks.
The CryptoQuant CEO argued altcoin market cap “has barely grown beyond its 2021 high,” while past altseasons were mostly driven by DeFi and memecoins. Bitcoin, meanwhile, absorbed outside capital from traditional finance. He added:
“I know many of my followers were hurt by altcoins. Many are Bitcoin maxis, and I respect that. I agree that 99.9% of altcoins should be rejected. But ‘most are trash’ is not the same as ‘all are trash.’ Be selective, not prejudiced. Not sponsored. NFA. Just my personal view.”
Data from CryptoQuant also shows altcoin selling pressure has reached a five-year extreme. One of the platform’s analysts noted the move isn’t just a dip, but 15 months of continuous net selling on spot exchanges.
At the same time, cumulative buy-sell volume difference for altcoins excluding BTC▼$65,756.00 and ETH▼$1,772.42 at its deepest negative reading since the data began in 2020.
Read more: Why Is Crypto Tanking? Bitcoin and Altcoins Enter Full Panic Mode
