Bitcoin has retraced below the $60,000 price level for the first time since Sept. 18 and market participants are speculating whether there will be further downside.

“First BTC target at $59K reached, $57K next? Whether we get a bounce before that is unclear,” crypto trader Justin Bennett stated in an Oct. 10 X post .

Bitcoin is trading at $59,152, down 2.34% over the past 24 hours. Source: TradingView

The asset’s decline comes despite October being historically one of the strongest months for Bitcoin.

Onchain analytics provider Santiment noted on Oct. 4 that mentions of Uptober have declined significantly since the beginning of the month. 

US election may change altcoin sentiment

Meanwhile, altcoins with strong fundamentals aren’t rallying because projects are cautious and holding back on maximizing revenue due to ongoing regulatory uncertainty, according to a crypto analyst.

“Some altcoins with real value aren’t rising due to regulatory hurdles,” CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju explained in an Oct. 9 X  post .

Ju opined that if Donald Trump were to win the United States presidential election on Nov. 5, “alts could rally.” However, for now, buying altcoins is pure speculation in an unregulated market.

“For now, it’s all gambling in an unregulated space,” he stated. He argued that a Trump victory would allow altcoin projects to capitalize on their revenue potential.

“If Trump wins, expect regulatory changes, including fee switches enabling token burns for revenue-generating projects.”

Regulatory actions have had a direct impact on altcoin prices in recent times. In April, Uniswap ( UNI ), the token for the decentralized exchange of the same name, sank to a six-week low after Uniswap said it received a proposed lawsuit notice from United States regulators.

Traders say altcoins are still in ‘accumulation’

Traders are becoming more vocal about the current state of the altcoin market, especially with the start of Q4 2024 , a quarter many expect will trigger a crypto market rally.

MN Trading founder Michael van de Poppe outlined in an Oct. 10 X  post  that the “altcoin markets are still in accumulation.”

Michael van de Poppe says the “vertical stages” are “probably” coming in Q1 2025. Source: X/Michael van de Poppe

“The start of a bull cycle is super boring, as it slowly grinds upwards and nothing more,” van de Poppe added.

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Meanwhile, Signal Profits co-founder Jacob Canfield stated in an Oct. 7 X post that “a handful of altcoins and a lot of memecoins are holding the altcoin market up.”

“You’ll see memes go to $5-$20 billion when Bitcoin dominance gets a real rejection. You’ll want to be positioned for it,” Canfield added.

At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s dominance is 57.79%, according to TradingView data .

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.