Don’t Just Buy the Dip, Buy the Strength. Five Altcoins to Watch Now

September has kicked off with a market-wide pullback, but smart money knows that dips are for buying strength. While the broader market is weak, a handful of altcoins have major, distinct catalysts that could allow them to outperform.

Here are – Sei, Cardano, Chainlink, WLFI, and Pyth that traders are watching for a potential September rebound.

Sei is positioning itself as one of the fastest L1s, and two major catalysts are putting it in the institutional spotlight.

Sei just launched its mainnet beta v2, which introduced the first “parallelized EVM.” This is a major technical upgrade designed to process transactions much faster, with the team claiming it will eventually handle 100,000 complex transactions per second.

Yes. 21Shares just filed for a spot Sei ETF with the SEC. An ETF filing is a massive signal of mainstream interest and a potential catalyst for a major price re-rating.

With Sei trading at and holding a $1.67 billion market cap, investors see the current pullback as an appealing entry point.

While other projects focus on speculation, Cardano and Chainlink are making serious moves into real-world and government infrastructure.

Founder Charles Hoskinson is pushing for deeper DeFi integration, teasing potential collaborations with Chainlink and the introduction of the USD1 stablecoin to the ecosystem. These moves are designed to boost on-chain activity and close the gap with larger rivals.

Chainlink has already locked in a major government contract, providing macroeconomic data feeds for the U.S. Department of Commerce. This validates LINK as a critical piece of public-sector infrastructure

The token currently at , remains one of the most-watched assets with forecasts pointing to significant upside.

Two newer tokens are also making noise, one and the other with a key government partnership.

The Trump-backed WLFI token is live, but the launch has been extremely volatile. The token is currently trading at , down over 15% in the last 24 hours.

Early investors are permitted to sell up to 20% of their holdings, and while the Trump family has already reaped an estimated $500 million from the venture, the sharp price swings highlight both the speculative appeal and risks tied to the token’s high-profile backing.

Pyth has joined Chainlink as an official oracle service for the U.S. Department of Commerce. The network just launched its first on-chain GDP data feeds, a major milestone that significantly boosts its credibility and institutional relevance.

PYTH rose nearly 40% in the past week despite today’s pullback, and at , it remains closely tracked by traders.