Bitcoin still; Litecoin scampers

September starts with Bitcoin pennies from a crucial perch and a bevy of altcoins in repose. But what caught our eye at 7:39 a.m. (EST) was CoinGecko's 21st-largest digital asset, Litecoin, rocking a $56 spot price on a +3.4% gain since yesterday.

If the crypto rally during the early part of the summer was a balm for injuries suffered in late spring, no one told LTC. After being in the low $40s in the thick of the mid-June goring, LTC crawled back above $50 in July. It hardly rocketed from there, seemingly intimidated by any notion of traveling north of $59. LTC fell 5.6% in August.

And yet, despite price declines, LTC's total number of addresses has steadily grown over the past two quarters, a sign of healthy demand, said AMBCrypto.

A few other altcoins, meanwhile, are bucking today's trend of being down 2%-3%; we spotted EOS jumping 4%, following a steady decline after a buzz-steeped ascent only a couple of weeks ago. EOS made a run at $2 ahead of its Antelope rebrand which came and went. At last check EOS was below $1.50.

Let the Bitstamp data show that BTC spot price closed out August below $20,000, forming yet another red monthly candle to go with a half dozen other ones going back to late last year.

Nevertheless, as of Thursday, Sept. 1, at 8:20 a.m. (EST), the largest crypto was above $20,000 with about twenty bucks to spare.

Macro forces have been a cruel drill instructor these past several months; but policymakers may ironically produce a positive whirlwind – provided certain not-that-far-fetched Fed maneuvers come into play in the fall, according to Arthur Hayes, former head of BitMEX. Hayes' latest policy-focused blog laid out a banking system stimulus scenario involving the not-oft noticed Fed’s standing repo facility (SRF) policy, one that could if used deftly facilitate nightly cheap dollar liquidity that can get leveraged in the financial markets (The DailyHodl).

Crypto Tony has a different take: “leaning towards a macro drop down.”

So, what shall September bring?

BTC's past five Septembers ended in losses. That's right; the largest crypto has declined every September since 2017, averaging an 8.5% drop for the month over the past five years, according to Bloomberg.

The ninth month tends to be hard on stocks, too, and investors will anxiously await the Fed’s next policy sit down set for Sept. 20.

Well, bring it on, planners. Here's a quartet of uniquely tailwind abetted, possibly poised to break out altcoins on which to keep an eye in the month ahead, per Motley Fool: Cardano; OMG Network; Helium and VeChain.