After a long, painful stretch for altcoins, the market is finally showing signs of recovery. Ethereum (ETH) jumped over 32% in just one week, sparking excitement across the crypto space. But as momentum builds, many investors are left wondering: should they take profits, or double down?
Let’s break down what’s really driving this sudden surge and what it could mean for the months ahead.
China Lights up the Rally
Michael van de Poppe, a popular crypto trader and analyst, said this rally didn’t start because of anything the U.S. did. Instead, he says it all began in China.
Poppe further noted that China’s central bank cut interest rates to a record low of 1.3%, and also lowered the amount of money banks need to keep in reserve. This is called quantitative easing (QE), and it often pushes more money into the market.
Poppe believes this move from China gave global markets a boost, especially crypto. He pointed out that the Chinese Yuan (CNH) is getting stronger. When that happens, the U.S. Dollar gets weaker, which is usually good for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
As per Poppe’s chart analysis, whenever CNH/USD goes up, ETH/BTC often rises too.
FED Rate Kept Unchanged
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s May 7 meeting kept interest rates unchanged—no surprises there. While investors are now keeping an eye on rising unemployment and tariff tensions, which could eventually force the Fed to cut rates.
If U.S. unemployment rises above 5%, the Fed might be forced to cut rates to boost economic activity.
Ethereum Leading Altcoin Rally
Ethereum isn’t just going up, it’s now outperforming Bitcoin by over 30%. He says this could be the early sign of an altcoin season, when smaller coins rally more than Bitcoin.
Poppe also highlighted two major bullish catalysts for Ethereum:
- Stripe is now supporting stablecoin payments on Ethereum.
- The new Pectra upgrade is on the way, which will improve the Ethereum network.
These upgrades make Ethereum more useful, not just something to invest in.
What’s Next For Altcoin Holders?
Poppe says the market is split right now, some people think this is the start of a new bull run, while others think it’s just a short-term bounce.
While Poppe is on the bullish side, he says crypto follows a 4-year cycle: 2 years of a bear market, followed by 2 years of a bull run. And based on that, he believes the next big move is just beginning.
