Ansem says altcoin investing is shifting to project fundamentals

In short

• Crypto trader Ansem says altcoin investing is shifting toward project fundamentals, capital inflows and real business performance.
• He said on X on 18 October 2026 that HYPE and ZEC have moved independently of bitcoin and ether during broad sell-offs.
• Ansem made the same point to InvestIn.News at Token2049 in Singapore last week.
• Bitcoin traded at $81,963 and ether at $2,415 with bitcoin dominance at 60.07% as of 12:21 UTC on 18 October, per InvestIn.News market data.

On 18 October 2026, crypto trader Ansem said the way investors should pick altcoins is changing. Project fundamentals, capital inflows and real business performance now matter more than the direction of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Odaily reported the same view that day. Ansem also made the point directly in a post on X and in comments to InvestIn.News at Token2049 in Singapore last week, citing HYPE and ZEC as tokens that have moved independently of Bitcoin and ether.

Ansem's shift to fundamentals

Ansem (@blknoiz06) said on X on 18 October 2026 that he is approaching altcoins differently this cycle. He wrote that HYPE and ZEC have performed independently of BTC and ETH, even when the broader market was struggling, and that crypto is gradually moving toward a market where individual fundamentals, capital inflows and actual business performance matter more. That, he argued, makes identifying mispriced assets and understanding which teams are building increasingly important, rather than relying on the direction of the majors.

HYPE, ZEC and the market backdrop

At 12:21 UTC on 18 October, Bitcoin traded at $81,963 and ether at $2,415, with total crypto market value at $2.74 trillion and Bitcoin dominance at 60.07%, according to InvestIn.News market data. Zcash, one of the tokens Ansem named, had climbed about 295% in the three months to 28 September while Bitcoin rose about 44%, according to 24/7 Wall St.

How it fits the altseason debate

The wider debate about an altcoin season, when altcoins outperform Bitcoin, has been running for weeks. On 22 September, Cointelegraph reported that Glassnode's Altcoin Cycle Signal hit 81.25 out of 100, pointing to altcoin outperformance, while Bitcoin dominance remained below 60%. The combined altcoin market cap reached $1.17 trillion that week, its highest since late January.

What it means for holders and traders

For ordinary altcoin holders, Ansem's argument means the old playbook of following Bitcoin's moves may miss tokens that are rising on their own catalysts. Traders may need to spend more time judging whether a project has real users, revenue and an active team, rather than waiting for a broad market pump. That matters most for smaller projects, where fundamentals are harder to verify and mispricing can be larger.

What X followers said

His post drew a mix of agreement and questions. Aisar (@aisarcore) said on X, 'I'm looking at it this way as well.' @ZygfridS said on X that people are now researching projects overnight to find their conviction. @harleyfoote_ said on X that HYPE's been a weird one and completely ignored the broader bleed. @Web3Niels said on X that chasing every alt when Bitcoin pumps does not work like it used to. Another user, Ansem Fandom (@Frito278842), asked on X how high ZEC could go. The post had been liked 854 times and viewed 81,539 times by 12:18 UTC on 18 October 2026.

Questions readers ask

What is Ansem saying about altcoin investing?

Crypto trader Ansem says altcoin investing is shifting toward individual project fundamentals, capital inflows and actual business performance, rather than relying on the direction of Bitcoin and Ethereum. He made the point on X on 18 October 2026 and in comments to InvestIn.News at Token2049 in Singapore last week.

Which altcoins did Ansem name as moving independently?

Ansem named HYPE and ZEC as assets that have at times traded independently of Bitcoin and Ethereum, even during broader market weakness. Zcash rose about 295% in the three months to 28 September while Bitcoin rose about 44%, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Our view

In my view, Ansem is right that this cycle feels different, but that is not by itself new. Crypto has repeatedly changed its favourite theme, from 2017's bitcoin dominance to DeFi, NFTs and memes later. The market's willingness to move HYPE and ZEC on their own news suggests that sentiment is now more selective, but a shift toward fundamentals will be confirmed only if those tokens hold up through the next broad sell-off. Until then, his call is a useful reminder that project-level work and capital flows matter, not a proven change in how altcoin markets operate.

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