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What is Altcoin Season? When is Altseason in July 2025?
What causes an altseason?
After a substantial increase in the price of Bitcoin, it tends to stabilize and move sideways for a while. This situation persuades investors to search for more profitable opportunities. They often exchange their BTC for Ethereum(ETH) and other promising alts, decreasing its share of the total crypto market and triggering an altseason.
When does altcoin season start in July 2025?
As July 2025 starts, the crypto market gives mixed signals about a possible altseason.
Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D): Currently at approximately 64%, Bitcoin's dominance remains high. Historically, a decline below 60% has been associated with the start of altcoin seasons, as capital shifts from Bitcoin to other cryptocurrencies.
Altcoin Market capitalization: The total market cap for altcoins is hovering around $1.1 trillion. A breakout above the $1.3 trillion resistance level could signal renewed investor interest and potential for growth in the altcoin sector.
Relative strength index (RSI): Many altcoins have RSI levels in the oversold territory (below 30), suggesting potential price rebounds if buying pressure increases.
Macroeconomic factors: Delays in tariff implementations and potential quantitative easing measures could increase liquidity in the markets, benefiting risk assets like altcoins.
However, key obstacles remain. Sustained Bitcoin dominance could delay or dampen any altcoin rally. Our analysts also caution that any altseason may be selective, favoring altcoins with strong fundamentals over speculative plays.
Crypto equity might also compete for attention and liquidity—especially in institutional circles. In a mixed market, it could delay or suppress weaker altcoin rallies, making an altseason more selective and fundamentals-driven.
History of past altcoin seasons
Previous alt seasons have significantly increased various altcoin values, with some achieving exponential rises in relatively brief timeframes.
Noteworthy alt seasons include the trends of 2017-2018 and 2020-2021. Let's examine them more closely.
2017-2018
This alt-season was driven by a substantial reduction in Bitcoin's market dominance, which dropped from 86.3% in late 2017 to a low of 38.69% at the beginning of 2018. During this time, Bitcoin's price fell from a then-historic peak above $20,000 to below $6,000 just a few months later.
The rise of altcoins surpassing BTC occurred as the initial coin offering (ICO) market was booming in 2017-2018. Many blockchain projects launched ICOs to gather funds by creating tokens.
2020-2021
The alt season of 2020-2021 emerged during the coronavirus pandemic, prompting retail investors and crypto enthusiasts to seek opportunities beyond Bitcoin. This led to the emergence of contemporary meme coins, with Dogecoin and Shiba Inu achieving unprecedented growth.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) also stimulated alt markets, enhancing overall sentiment within the dApp sectors. During this period, BTC's market dominance dropped from 70% to 38%, while the total market capitalization doubled from 30% to 62%. The altcoin season index hit 98 on April 16, 2021.
How to tell when altseason has started
Recognizing the start of an alt season requires a solid grasp of market cycles and trends, or you could just check the altcoin season index. The problem is that the index is reactionary—by the time it shows we're in an altseason, it'll be too late to enter at good prices.
Let's look into some key indicators that could signal the early start of an alt season.
Increase in altcoin dominance
A major sign indicating the start of an alt season is a clear rise in altcoin dominance within the total cryptocurrency market. Alt dominance refers to the combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin, represented as a percentage of the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency sector.
Rising trading volumes
A spike in trading volumes for various alts is a notable indicator of the beginning of the altcoin cycle. Increased trading volumes reflect heightened activity in the crypto market and growing investor interest in alt-cryptos, resulting in enhanced liquidity and price fluctuations.
