As Bitcoin regains momentum—bouncing back from a October low near $59,000 to a recent high of $68,422—the broader crypto market is watching closely. With BTC reclaiming investor attention, a critical question emerges: What’s next for altcoins? Are they poised for recovery, or will they continue to play second fiddle in Bitcoin’s shadow?
Drawing insights from Bankless’ latest analysis, this article explores the performance of 10 key altcoins predicted in October, evaluates their outcomes, and breaks down the outlook for major projects across DeFi, Layer 1 blockchains, and cross-chain infrastructure.
October Prediction Recap: 70% Accuracy Rate
Bankless analysts evaluated 10 altcoins with time-bound forecasts ending in October. After removing neutral calls, the final results revealed a 70% success rate—a solid performance that reflects both accurate trend identification and a few notable misreads.
✅ Correct Predictions:
- Ondo Finance (ONDO) – Down 25.28%
- Livepeer (LPT) – Down 27%
- ENS (ENS) – Down 36.71%
- Celestia (TIA) – Down 1%
- Polkadot (DOT) – Down 36.46%
- ether.fi (ETHFI) – Down 40%
- Worldcoin (WLD) – Down 26.07%
All these tokens declined as predicted, reinforcing bearish fundamentals in areas like tokenomics and ecosystem traction.
❌ Incorrect Predictions:
- Instadapp (INST) – Predicted up, but fell 43%
- Maple Finance (MPL) – Predicted down, but surged 43.56%
- BNB Chain (BNB) – Predicted down, but rose 2%
These outliers highlight the volatility and unpredictability inherent in mid-cap and niche protocols, especially those sensitive to short-term market sentiment or sudden liquidity shifts.
👉 Discover how top traders analyze altcoin trends before major moves.
Altcoins With Bullish Momentum
Despite Bitcoin's dominance, several altcoins show strong potential based on product innovation, ecosystem growth, and increasing user adoption.
dYdX (DYDX) – DeFi Meets Political Speculation
Prediction Period: Oct 16, 2024 – Jan 16, 2025
Entry Price: $0.96
Current Performance: +1.28%
After a prior 26% drop due to declining usage metrics, dYdX has found new life with its controversial yet highly engaging "TRUMPWIN-USD" prediction market. This leveraged betting platform allows traders to go long or short on U.S. election outcomes with up to 20x leverage, drawing speculative capital from across the crypto sphere.
While such markets carry settlement risks and may require forced deleveraging, they undeniably boost trading volume. Historical parallels—like Polymarket’s doubled monthly activity—suggest dYdX could see similar spikes.
More importantly, DYDX staking yields are tied directly to perpetual trading demand. As election-related trading heats up, staking rewards could rise—potentially fueling a positive feedback loop for the token price.
Jupiter (JUP) – Solana’s Rising DeFi Powerhouse
Prediction Period: Oct 15, 2024 – Jan 15, 2025
Entry Price: $0.88
Current Performance: -3.66%
Despite a slight dip since the forecast, Jupiter remains a compelling long-term bet. In October, Grayscale added JUP to its "Assets Under Consideration" list, signaling institutional interest.
As Solana’s leading DEX aggregator, Jupiter routes trades across multiple liquidity pools for optimal pricing—processing hundreds of millions in daily swaps without charging fees. Its future monetization potential is significant.
Beyond swaps, Jupiter offers:
- High-leverage perpetual futures (up to 28% APR)
- A robust token launchpad
- Deep integration with Solana’s growing ecosystem
With a fully diluted valuation exceeding Uniswap’s by 15%, JUP’s premium pricing reflects its diversified utility and first-mover advantage on Solana.
👉 See how DeFi leaders are leveraging Solana’s speed for next-gen trading.
Thala (THL) – Aptos’ Top Native DeFi Protocol
Prediction Period: Oct 7, 2024 – Jan 7, 2025
Entry Price: $0.51
Current Performance: +6.14%
Thala stands as the largest investable app on Aptos by TVL and ranks third among all protocols. Built using Move—a language exclusive to Aptos and Sui—Thala offers:
- Token swaps
- Liquid staking
- Overcollateralized stablecoin minting
Unlike EVM-based competitors, Thala avoids direct competition with Uniswap clones and benefits from native ecosystem support. As Aptos shows signs of revival—with rising daily active addresses and TVL—Thala is well-positioned to capture value.
Its compatibility with other Move-based chains (like Movement) also opens future expansion paths.
Aptos (APT) – Resurgence of a High-Performance L1
Prediction Period: Oct 4, 2024 – Jan 4, 2025
Entry Price: $9.13
Current Performance: +9.97%
APT has rebounded strongly after hitting lows in August, doubling in value over two months. Despite higher valuations than Ethereum on some metrics, its fundamentals are improving:
- Record-high TVL
- Steady increase in daily active addresses
- Theoretical throughput of 160,000 TPS
This makes Aptos ideal for high-bandwidth applications like DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) and real-time gaming—sectors expected to grow rapidly in Web3.
Axelar (AXL) – Unlocking Interoperability
Prediction Period: Oct 3, 2024 – Jan 3, 2025
Entry Price: $0.65
Current Performance: +23.15%
Axelar launched its Mobius Development Stack (MDS) on October 3—a new cross-chain interoperability standard that enables seamless bridging between chains like Solana, Sui, Hedera, and XRP Ledger.
Key innovations:
- Interchain Amplifier: Allows developers to create bridges at the smart contract level
- Support for ETH/BTC as collateral via re-staking
- No need for major protocol upgrades
With L1 ecosystems thriving, AXL is uniquely positioned to benefit from increased cross-chain activity and developer adoption.
Altcoins Facing Downward Pressure
Not all projects are riding the wave. Some face structural challenges ranging from poor user experience to unsustainable tokenomics.
Uniswap (UNI) – Fragmentation Risk in Unichain
Prediction Period: Oct 10, 2024 – Jan 10, 2025
Entry Price: $8.35
Current Performance: -9.1%
Uniswap’s launch of Unichain, an OP Stack-based rollup designed to centralize liquidity, aims to solve Ethereum’s fragmentation problem. However, it introduces a new issue: bridge-dependent swaps, which add latency and friction.
Even with faster pre-confirmations (200–250ms), traders focused on execution quality may avoid Unichain if it means worse pricing or longer settlement times. Without seamless interoperability, the network risks worsening—not solving—liquidity fragmentation.
Wormhole (W) – Declining Volume & Fading Hype
Prediction Period: Oct 2, 2024 – Jan 2, 2025
Entry Price: $0.36
Current Performance: -17.48%
Wormhole saw a brief price spike after Upbit listing and a partnership announcement with Securitize (used by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund). However:
- Trading volume dropped 36% MoM (from $255M)
- Post-listing rally reversed quickly
- New airdrop incentives lack traction
Market skepticism remains high about whether future partnerships can reverse declining usage trends.
EigenLayer (EIGEN) – Overvalued Despite Hype
Prediction Period: Oct 1, 2024 – Jan 1, 2025
Entry Price: $4.00
Current Performance: -16%
With a fully diluted valuation near $6.7 billion, EigenLayer’s price assumes massive future revenue from Actively Validated Services (AVS). But real-world yields may disappoint:
- Top AVS projects may yield only low single-digit returns
- High token inflation must be absorbed by investors
- Few live integrations exist so far
Without sustainable revenue models, the current valuation appears stretched.
ether.fi (ETHFI) – Inflation Looms Large
Prediction Period: Sep 30, 2024 – Dec 30, 2024
Entry Price: $1.82
Current Performance: -8.24%
Despite growing TVL through innovative re-staking products and airdrop farming incentives, ETHFI faces a harsh reality: permanent token inflation and an upcoming unlock schedule starting March 17, 2025.
Its fully diluted valuation already exceeds Lido’s—despite weaker fundamentals—raising concerns about market absorption capacity when large sell-offs begin.
Solana (SOL) – Ecosystem Stagnation
Prediction Period: Sep 26, 2024 – Dec 26, 2024
Entry Price: $156.15
Current Performance: -1.84%
Once a top performer, Solana now shows signs of stagnation:
- TVL flat since March peak
- Declining network fee income
- Meme coin enthusiasm fading
While SOL outperformed BONK and WIF recently, this reflects risk-off behavior rather than strength—investors may be rotating into the base asset amid ecosystem uncertainty.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is now a good time to invest in altcoins?
A: It depends on the project. While Bitcoin dominates short-term flows, select altcoins with strong fundamentals—like dYdX, Axelar, and Aptos—are showing early signs of accumulation. Always conduct due diligence before investing.
Q: Why are some altcoins underperforming despite market recovery?
A: Many face structural issues—overvaluation (EIGEN), poor UX (UNI), or declining usage (WORM). Tokenomics and real-world adoption matter more than hype in sustained rallies.
Q: Can prediction markets boost crypto prices?
A: Yes—when they drive volume and engagement. dYdX’s election-themed market has already attracted speculative interest, which can translate into higher staking yields and token demand.
Q: What makes Aptos different from other Layer 1s?
A: Its ultra-high throughput (160K TPS) and use of the Move programming language allow for scalable, secure applications—ideal for DePIN and gaming use cases.
Q: Will ETHFI survive its token unlocks?
A: The market will be tested in early 2025. With inflationary issuance and high valuation relative to Lido, ETHFI may struggle unless it achieves significant revenue growth or buyback mechanisms.
Core Keywords
Bitcoin dominance, altcoin performance, DeFi tokens, Layer 1 blockchain, cross-chain interoperability, crypto prediction markets, tokenomics, staking yields
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