I don't see much of a difference for traders.
It seems to me that trading is easier now than a year ago in the same period. Now bitcoin is growing, followed by the entire cryptocurrency market.
Obviously, long positions are much easier than short positions, which means now is a great time for traders to make money.
What you said is right, short positions will not help us to make a decent profit, that's why many experienced people will suggest going for the long term instead of short term. When the price of Bitcoin is increasing the price of altcoins will follow surely, so Bitcoin trend will continue to a higher value in the coming days.