🚀 Top Altcoins to Watch as Ethereum Hits $4K—Is the Altseason Here?

Ethereum's surge past $4,000 isn't just a milestone—it's a flashing neon sign for altcoin season. Traders are scrambling, memecoins are pumping, and even your grandma's asking about 'that Shiba thing.' Here's where smart money's flowing.

### The ETH Domino Effect

When ETH rallies, alts follow—but not all are created equal. Layer-2 tokens and DeFi blue chips are eating Bitcoin's lunch while Wall Street still tries to spell 'blockchain.'

### Memecoin Mania vs. Utility Plays

Yes, that dog token did a 10x. No, your FOMO isn't 'research.' Meanwhile, projects solving actual problems (cross-chain swaps, on-chain RWA) are quietly building empires.

### The Cynic's Corner

Remember: every 'next Bitcoin' eventually becomes a 'my lawyer advised me not to discuss this' tweet. DYOR—or enjoy donating to crypto Twitter's Lambo fund.

Ethereum reached highs of $4,190 on Saturday morning, marking its highest level since December 2021. The market-leading altcoin smashed above its 2024 peak price, marking a defining moment for this cycle.

This breakout has drawn attention from analysts, as Ethereum’s strength often serves as a risk-on signal for the broader altcoin market. When $ETH breaks out, smaller altcoins tend to gain rapid momentum, often resulting in even bigger returns. So with ethereum rallying, chants of an impending Altcoin Season are growing.

As a result, traders are rushing to identify the best crypto to buy now. Factors like narrative cycles, historical patterns, and current momentum are all key indicators for spotting projects with the most potential.

With that said, let’s explore our top picks of cryptos with the most potential as the ethereum price breaks out and Altcoin Season approaches.

Traders Eye Altcoin Explosion as Ethereum Hits Cycle Highs

Currently trading at $4,193, Ethereum is now priced just 14% below its 2021 all-time high (ATH) of $4,891. Bulls are buzzing, and several respected traders are suggesting it could go much higher.

“$ETH was worth $4,000 in Dec 2024 – probably fair value during that period. $ETH is currently worth $4,000 (today) while stablecoins surge, ETF staking is in place, and all the governmental approvals in the U.S.,” noted trader Michael van de Poppe, adding, “It wouldn’t be strange if $ETH surges to $6,500-8,000. That seems to be a fair price.”

Meanwhile, Ash Crypto highlighted that Ethereum is massively outperforming Bitcoin right now. He then urged investors to “Get ready for the Mega Altseason.”

ETH is heavily outperforming Bitcoin

Get ready for the Mega Altseason pic.twitter.com/B4p3MjY2vG

In line with that, DeFiTracer referenced a well-known chart illustrating liquidity flows through market cycles. It shows how liquidity shifts from bitcoin to Ethereum, then to large-cap altcoins, and finally into smaller coins, which signals the start of the Altcoin Season.

Typically, the smaller the market cap, the higher the return potential of the cryptocurrency. This is why traders are eagerly anticipating liquidity flows into smaller crypto assets.

So, the question is, what is the best crypto to buy now for huge gains as the Altcoin Season unfolds? Here are three strong choices for you to consider:

Maxi Doge

If history is any guide, meme coins will likely be among the biggest winners during the Altcoin Season. Their community-driven virality, simple nature, and explosive volatility can deliver life-changing gains during bullish crypto periods.

Everyone knows Dogecoin is the leading meme coin, but its $30 billion market cap means it offers less growth potential compared to smaller joke tokens like Maxi Doge. This project is a Dogecoin-themed meme coin centered around ‘crypto bro’ culture.

It’s the perfect story – he’s a bodybuilding, MAXITREN-taking, 1,000x leverage trading degen. This is a fresh take on the usual, more politically correct dog coin branding, while still tapping into its viral appeal.

The project is currently in a presale, having raised over $500,000 in its first week, showing impressive early momentum.

But with less than $1 million raised and Altcoin Season approaching, there’s a real chance that $MAXI could experience a parabolic run in the coming weeks. Visit Maxi Doge.

Ethena

According to analyst Borovik, one of the main drivers behind Ethereum’s success is stablecoin adoption. “Stablecoin regulation will bring TRILLIONS onto ETH,” he recently tweeted.

The stablecoin narrative has grown significantly since the approval of the GENIUS bill, which Bernstein analysts say makes stablecoins “legal digital cash.” The firm agrees this is the main factor behind Ethereum’s strength.

Considering this, it makes sense to focus on the Ethereum stablecoin sector, and Ethena is one of the top options. It’s the third-largest stablecoin, with USDe holding a $9.9 billion market cap.

What sets USDe apart from USDT and USDC is that it’s yield-bearing – holders earned an average APY of 19% in 2024.

This gives it a clear advantage over competitors and could lead to market dominance in the coming months and years, and that’d cause the $ENA price to soar.

Snorter

Snorter is a meme coin trading bot built on the Soalan blockchain. This is a unique setup, allowing $SNORT to benefit from multiple demand drivers simultaneously.

It’s a meme coin combined with a DeFi tool, offering the best of both worlds by riding meme HYPE cycles while also attracting utility-driven demand. 

This use case also delivers real staying power because it doesn’t depend solely on trends like most meme coins.

Snorter offers market-leading features such as copy trading, automated token sniping, rug pull detection, and MEV resistance. It charges the lowest fees among all Trading Bots at just 0.85%, which could help it gain a significant market share.

Currently, investors can buy $SNORT during the presale, which has already raised $2.9 million, demonstrating strong market interest.The presale has started gaining notable momentum in recent days, with over $300,000 raised. This suggests $SNORT could perform excellently as the Altcoin Season begins. Visit Snorter.