- NBA legend Scottie Pippen has declared the start of altcoin season, sparking investor excitement with his public support for Shiba Inu, Solana, XRP, and Cardano
- Additionally, Pippen’s $BALL token, part of a growing trend of athlete-backed crypto ventures
NBA star Scottie Pippen has made waves in the crypto community by declaring the start of altcoin season, a period where alternative cryptocurrencies are expected to outperform Bitcoin. Pippen’s endorsement and expressed interest in XRP, Solana, Cardano and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have stirred excitement among investors.
Pippen’s Altcoin Picks and Market Analysis
Pippen took to social media to proclaim, “Altcoin Season is here!” He asked his followers which alternative cryptocurrencies they were most enthusiastic about. Notably, he highlighted Shiba Inu as an altcoin he is closely watching, alongside Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Mog Coin.
The prices of many top altcoins have surged recently, indicating increased investor interest. Shiba Inu, in particular, has seen a significant price increase. Over the past week, SHIB has soared by 29.04%, while Bitcoin has grown by 10.09%.
SHIB briefly reached a multi-month high of $0.00001720, surpassing Stellar XLM to become the 14th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Although the price has since settled around $0.000016, Shiba Inu maintains its 14th-place ranking.
Both Dogecoin and Cardano have risen by more than 8%, with Sui rallying 13.8% and Bitcoin Cash trading 14.3% higher. The top performer among the 100 biggest coins by market cap is Pudgy Penguins, up 27%. Last week’s altcoin gains have led to feverish speculation on X that “alt season” is coming, where altcoins outperform BTC.
Despite the enthusiasm, CoinMarketCap data suggests that the market is not yet fully in alt season. The criteria for “Alt Season” require 75% of the top 100 altcoins (excluding stablecoins) to outperform Bitcoin over the past 90 days. Currently, only 5% have achieved this. Over the last three months, Bitcoin has gained 6.11%, while Shiba Inu has increased by 3.31%.
Furthermore, such talk might be a little premature, especially considering that Bitcoin’s dominance remains stubbornly high at 64%. Earlier this year, CryptoQuant analyst Ki Young Ju had warned that “the era of everything pumping is over,” and “most altcoins won’t make it.” He argued altcoins that are currently the subject of ETF filings, think XRP, Solana, Cardano and Litecoin, were most likely to outperform in 2025, along with “sustainable attention drivers” and “revenue-generating projects.”
$BALL Token and the Athlete Crypto Trend
Scottie Pippen in the tweet also mentioned the $BALL token. “Excited about what’s happening with $BALL.” Scottie Pippen’s $BALL token, launched in August 2024, has experienced notable volatility. Initially, the token’s value increased by 86%, reaching a market cap of $1.4 million.
However, concerns arose when the developer’s wallet withdrew approximately $330,000 worth of the token shortly after launch, resulting in a 60% price drop. Despite these challenges, Pippen remains committed to the project, aiming to authenticate a physical basketball, mint an NFT version, and enable fractional ownership and interactive Web3 game experiences.
The $BALL token exemplifies the growing trend of athletes exploring digital assets. Aaron Rodgers partnered with Cash App to receive a portion of his NFL salary in Bitcoin, expressing belief in its future potential. Odell Beckham Jr. announced he would take his entire $4.25 million salary in Bitcoin through Cash App and pledged to give away $1 million in BTC to fans.
While $BALL is currently operating as a meme coin, plans are in motion to establish it as a real-world asset (RWA) project. The success of this project hinges on building trust within the crypto community and delivering on the promised integration of physical and digital assets. $BALL is currently trading at $0.003224, down 0.6% in the last 24 hours.
