At the start of 2019, altcoins like Litecoin, Ethereum, and XRP started to climb and show glimmers of hope that the bear market might finally be over, but a powerful parabolic Bitcoin rally sucked the momentum and capital right out of the altcoin market.

But now that Bitcoin price is stagnating, altcoins are once again starting to rise, posting some of the largest gains seen in all of 2019. It’s caused even the most pessimistic crypto traders to consider that alt season may be finally upon us.

Ethereum, XRP, and Litecoin Lead Alt Season 2.0

Alt season has become a bit of a meme throughout the bear market, with crypto analysts loudly calling for one each and every time altcoins begin to bounce during their continued downtrend. And each and every time altcoins eventually get swatted back down to continue the bleeding.

There are presently only two alt coins in the red on Binance. It’s alt season 2.0, and has been for a while. Get it while it’s hot. — The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) September 18, 2019

But as the saying goes, this time may be different. Altcoins are bouncing from long-term support, and the rallies are showing exceptional strength, and are even continuing to rally while Bitcoin struggles with overhead resistance – something not seen for much of 2019.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Stagnant in Short Term Could Lead To Mini Altcoin Season

Ethereum has been leading the charge, with as much as 20% growth. XRP , one of the worst-performing crypto assets of 2019, has also gained around 20% even as sentiment surrounding the altcoin hits an all-time low. EOS and Dash are also up by a similar margin.

Past 7 days… Ethereum, EOS, Dash, and XRP are up about 20%. Litecoin, Cardano, Tron, Tezos, and IOTA are up about 10%. Bitcoin is up 0.5%. pic.twitter.com/l8NzN7hdFl — Mati Greenspan (tweets are not trading advice) (@MatiGreenspan) September 18, 2019

Litecoin, Cardano, Tron, Tezos and IOTA, and others from the top 20 crypto assets by market cap are also up by about 10% or more. Stellar, which has plummeted further and further throughout the bear market spiked by 40%.

The boom in altcoins is due to extremely oversold conditions, and a breakdown in Bitcoin dominance – a metric that weights the king of crypto against the rest of the market. But depending on the type of formation that BTC dominance is in, it could spike back up, wiping out any gains altcoins have seen during this rally.

https://twitter.com/888Velvet/status/1174075595984113665

If this happens, the current alt season will be short-lived. Yet another glimmer of hope, followed by disappointment could be extremely damaging to the altcoin market, as sentiment is already at extreme lows.

Related Reading | Crypto Crisis: Pro Trader Compares Altcoins To Crushing Student Debt

Even if altcoins do rally further, it may not be enough to ever fix the negative sentiment left over from the brutal bear market, as most of these assets have over 900% to go in order to return to their previous all-time highs after retracing as much as 90% or more.

Alt-coin's rallying. Cool, only 900% to break-even. — Bob Loukas (@BobLoukas) September 17, 2019

Whatever happens, altcoins like Ethereum, XRP, and Litecoin are currently booming and the crypto market is watching closely for confirmation that it’s the real thing, of if this yet another bounce for the altcoin market that results in yet another rejection from seemingly unstoppable BTC dominance.