XRP, Stellar and Cardano are some of the cryptocurrencies driving this rise: are we witnessing the beginning of a new "alt season", or will everything return to normal?

Bitcoin (BTC) broke above $ 19,000 on November 24 thanks to a new bullish momentum, but traders are focusing on altcoins.

In what many describe as the start of another "alt season,"

XRP and XLM leaders in the new "alt season"l

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple's XRP token after a long wait has attracted a lot of attention to itself, thanks to its weekly profits of over 110%.

At the time of writing, XRP / USD is trading at $ 0.58, having reached $ 0.92 before a sudden 30% drop that occurred alongside a major technical blackout on Coinbase.

Despite this, the token still remains far from its peak above $ 3, or less than 80% of the all-time high.

By comparison, Bitcoin is currently only 3% off its price record set in December 2017.

Stellar Lumen (XLM)

Stellar Lumen (XLM), in the wake of Ripple (XRP) recorded even better daily increases, breaking above the $ 0.18 level to make weekly profits of more than 90%.

A classic move for the sister altcoin, which tends to follow XRP in bull markets. Stellar Lumen is back in a zone not seen since November 2018. Its all-time high is just above $ 0.60.

Cardano (ADA)

Another great success story this week, the Cardano (ADA) token posted weekly gains over 50%, largely preceding Wednesday's moves in the altcoin market.

With a market cap currently above $ 5 billion, Cardano took eighth position at a price of $ 0.17.

However, historical highs are above $ 1, the cryptocurrency still has a long way to go before it can make significant returns like previous years.

IOTA (MIOTA)

The fourth largest weekly rise was that of Iota (MIOTA) on Wednesday, with weekly gains just under 50%.

Currently in 26th place on CoinMarketCap's cryptocurrency list, Iota hit $ 0.37 this week: however, the path to new all-time highs, or over $ 5.50, remains far off.

Dash

A well-known name among altcoin traders, Dash also posted positive performance this week, with Dash / USD up 40% over the past seven days.

At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at $ 102, but nothing like its record of nearly $ 1,500.