Altcoin Season Has Begun, Ethereum Leads the Charge

Altcoins have been showing strength recently, led by Ethereum's ETH $1 845 24h volatility: 2.6% Market cap: $222.72 B Vol. 24h: $14.22 B

Altcoins have been showing strength recently, led by Ethereum’s (ETH) mega pump to $2,700 this week, while Bitcoin (BTC) dominance has been declining at the same time.

This could be the beginning of a full-blown altcoin season, starting next month in June.

Bitcoin Dominance Drops, Signaling Altcoin Season

Over the past week, BTC dominance in the overall crypto market dropped from 65% to 62%, breaking a five-month upward trend.

According to a chart shared on X by crypto analyst Crypto Auris, BTC.D is testing a crucial support at 62%, and a break below which will kick off a true altcoin season.

In contrast, the total crypto market capitalization has risen from $2.90 trillion to $3.24 trillion during the same period.

This divergence indicates growing investor interest in alternative cryptocurrencies over Bitcoin.

Altcoin Season in Motion

Joao Wedson, CEO and founder of crypto analytics platform Alphractal, has declared that the altcoin season is already in motion, with Bitcoin dominance anticipated to decline significantly in the coming months.

Wedson’s proprietary Altcoin Season Index, which tracks 57 carefully selected altcoins, reveals that 37 of these have outperformed Bitcoin over the past 60 days, signaling a notable shift in market momentum toward alternative cryptocurrencies.

The analyst added that even if BTC drops in the coming weeks, most altcoins have already bottomed out, and it’s unlikely they’ll fall below recent price levels. Part of Bitcoin’s $2 trillion market cap is likely to flow into altcoins.

On-Chain Metrics Show BTC-Driven Cycle Persists

While Bitcoin dominance started heading south from the peak of 65% in May, Ethereum, on the other hand, saw its dominance jump to 9.75%, up by 3%. The overall dominance of altcoins surged to 22.35%, marking a 2% increase.

Blockchain analytics platform Glassnode reported that despite these gains, Ethereum and altcoins remain below their historical peaks of 18% and 28.5%, respectively, indicating that the current market trend remains predominantly Bitcoin-driven.

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading around $102,600 and consolidating, while altcoins are gaining stronger momentum. It will be interesting to see whether the momentum swings in favor of Bitcoin or altcoins moving forward.