Felix Hartmann, founder of Hartmann Capital, predicts that the majority of altcoins may continue their downtrend until late January 2025. “Some alts may continue running briefly, but the majority are likely to slow bleed or consolidate for 2–6 weeks,” Hartmann said in a Dec. 10 X post. “Not much alpha in chasing alts here, [in my opinion], as many just topped after 2–3x moves in a week.” Hartmann Suggests Renewing Long Bias “While I expected slightly lower levels on some alts, perfect is the enemy of good; hence, it seems like an okay time to bring long bias back,” he added. The altcoin market has faced another 24-hour slump, with $481.62 million in long positions liquidated, according to CoinGlass. Pseudonymous trader “Mister Crypto” believes the latest downturn could pave the way for exponential growth. “This was the final shakeout before the real exponential breakouts,” he said in a Dec. 10 X post. Among the biggest losers in the top 100 cryptocurrencies are Ethena (ENA), down 10.46%, Pepe (PEPE), dropping 10.62%, and Bonk (BONK), falling 8.59%, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $96,663, down 1.5% over the past day, after briefly surpassing $100,000 on Dec. 5. Traders Anticipate a Return to Higher Levels Hartmann suggested Bitcoin could retest $99,000, largely driven by “short squeezes.” If Bitcoin rises above $99,000, $1.53 billion in short positions may face liquidation. “There’s a lot of liquidity building up on the topside for Bitcoin,” CryptoSea co-founder Daan de Rover said on Dec. 10. Pseudonymous trader Daan Crypto Trades noted Bitcoin “generally moves 30–50% after breaking a long consolidation.” Santiment warns that panic selling by retail traders could hinder recovery, though long-term gains remain possible.