Why Ethereum is a top altcoin pick for Q1 2024

• Despite a delay in the Ethereum ETF decision, ETH’s price may rally.
• On-chain data showed that the altcoin may rise above $3,600.

Ethereum [ETH] could be one of the best performers of this year’s first quarter, according to a recent revelation by Michaël van de Poppe. The founder of MN Trading noted that altcoins would outperform Bitcoin [BTC]  in Q1.

However, that was not the main reason he opined that ETH would lead the charge.

Instead, he focused on the ETF filings involving Bitcoin and Ethereum. In defense of his opinion, the analyst mentioned that the optimism around an Ethereum spot ETF would have a positive impact.

van de Poppe did not exclusively address what impact the Bitcoin spot ETF could have on ETH. Instead, he said,

“My thesis is that Ethereum is likely going to outperform Bitcoin in the upcoming period and that’s why I want to allocate more towards ETH. Spot Ethereum ETF after the approval of the Bitcoin ETF is one of the examples.”

Is Bitcoin’s season gone?

However, it is important to mention that the U.S. SEC has pushed its decision regarding the Ethereum ETF to May. Furthermore, many analysts believe that a decision in favor of Bitcoin will happen in January.

At press time, ETH’s value was $2,425, marking a bullish start to the year. Indications from the daily chart showed that buyers were able to take advantage of the sellers’ exhaustion at $2,272.

This was also instrumental to the flight above the $2,375 resistance level.

For the mid to long-term potential, the Exponential Moving Average (EMA) showed that ETH might be undervalued. As of this writing, the 50 EMA (blue)  had jumped above the 200 EMA (yellow).

This position is a sign that a major uptrend could be established much later.

Some time ago, AMBCrypto discussed how ETH could hit $2,500.  At press time, the altcoin showed signals of moving closer to that point. However, the Average Directional Index (ADX)  needs to trend higher to confirm the bias.

The ADX (yellow), as of this writing, was 15.67. If the reading hits 25 or above, it could support the +DMI (green) rise and help ETH hit $2,500 within a short period.

Source: TradingView

ETH has the top on its mind

Another metric that AMBCrypto considers vital to ETH’s potential is the Pi Cycle Top. The Pi Cycle Top shows when a cryptocurrency becomes significantly overheated.

In this instance, the 111 SMA (green) reaches the level of the 350 SMA (purple).

But, an analysis of Glassnode’s data showed that the 111 SMA was far below the 350 SMA. This means that Ethereum is not yet close to its top.

Source: Glassnode

Realistic or not, here’s ETH’s market cap in BTC’s terms

A further assessment of the metric at press time showed that the 111 SMA was at $1,921. On the other hand, the 350 SMA was at $3,631. This implied that ETH has the potential to hit $3,631 in a few months if all goes well.

But if the altcoin does not attain that height, $1,921 could be a good support level. Apart from Ethereum, van de Poppe also asked his followers to keep an eye on Chainlink [LINK], Arbitrum [ARB], and Optimism [OP].