Keep this in mind when holding Altcoins for medium and long term and choose wisely. Altcoin is not meant to be long term. If it is then it’s just a reason made up to enter a trade.
Projects or Coins now have a higher daily trading volume and a broader community to back them up in a continuous development.
Ethereum ETH, Monero XMR, FCT Factor, and DASH are the leading Coin with the highest daily volume. You should follow the chart and define which stage you are on and would it be a whale's consolidation phase. At the right time and a good press release on the project, the pump will begin and all you need it waiting for the money to pour in. Remember, the winner is the one has the most cash, not the most Bitcoin.
Low volume merely means its easier to pump and dump - hency high volatility. This may be preferred, depending on your risk appetite.
Secondly, most alts have only lost value over time because their measuring stick (king BTC) has lost value. A bull market it alt season all the way, so its not a "matter of time" otherwise nobody would invest in them.