As the crypto market picks up steam, altcoins are stealing the show with some impressive gains. Bitcoin is holding strong at $103,656, up 8% this week. Altcoins are gaining momentum, with Ethereum rallying 31.7% after the Pectra upgrade, now trading at $2,403. 

XRP is up 9% this week at $2.39. Dogecoin made a solid comeback, jumping 26%. Solana is up 15%, and Cardano's ADA gained 14%.

Strategies To Play This Bull Run

Altcoin Sherpa has laid out two exciting strategies to play this bull run. Firstly, he suggests chasing the runners, meaning coins that have already pumped, like meme coins or trending AI tokens. These coins tend to have momentum, volume, and liquidity, making them easier to trade, like Popcat, Moodeng, and AVA Virtual. You can buy the dips and ride them as long as possible. 

But the downside? These coins have already made big moves, so the upside could be smaller. And if the market flips, they could crash hard.

Accumulate the Sleepers?

The other strategy is to accumulate the sleepers—coins that haven't moved much yet, such as older projects or coins with untapped narratives (like AI, gaming, or zk-tech). 

These coins have higher upside potential since they’re at lower prices and could see big pumps if they catch a new trend. However, they are often illiquid, and it may take a long time for them to take off. Besides, there's also a risk that they may not move at all.

Sherpa suggests that if you're more active, chasing the runners might be a better option, while option two is better suited for a long-term play.

Analyst Crypto Rover also believes that the altcoin season is starting. As Bitcoin's market share hits a key level, analysts expect a shift toward altcoins, with Ethereum and others showing strength. This could kick off a big altcoin rally in 2025.

Top Altcoins To Watch

Recently, Altcoin Daily analysts have identified top 14 altcoins to watch for in 2025. These include Ethereum, which is leading the charge with institutional interest and Layer 2 solutions, and Ondo Finance (ONDO), which is tokenizing real-world assets with support from BlackRock.

XRP is gaining momentum in enterprise payments, while Cardano and World Mobile Token focus on eco-friendly blockchain and decentralized connectivity. Solana and Sui are also strong contenders in Layer 1. Other promising coins include Borg Token (BORG), COTI (COTI), Foxy (FOXY), Supra (SUPRA), Injective (INJ), Paid Network (PAID), and ResearchCoin (RSC).