Since Bitcoin went from $6,000 to $8,000 a few weeks ago, altcoins have failed to grow, and to me this is a bearish sign for alts.
often times, though, altcoins lag the BTC trend: BTCUSD will pump, altcoins will dump at first. but sometimes after the BTCUSD uptrend gets established, alt/BTC charts follow in toe.
i certainly wouldn't long alts right now. it's possible we're near a major low (ETHBTC is in an especially interesting spot, hovering above the long term trend). but it could get ugly if the bottom falls out here.
Cryptocurrency market as a whole is not bullish like it was in the previous two year because alts have failed to suck from Bitcoin's gains.
i'd say the next few weeks are crucial to establish whether we are in a range market, or a bear market. a continued bear market for BTC is very bad news for alts.......