Ethereum’s rally to $2,700 and a drop in Bitcoin dominance from 65% to 62% over the past week signal the potential onset of a full-blown altcoin season.
Altcoins have been showing strength recently, led by Ethereum’s ETH $2 991 24h volatility: 2.5% Market cap: $360.87 B Vol. 24h: $41.06 B mega pump to $2,700 this week, while Bitcoin BTC $91 597 24h volatility: 2.1% Market cap: $1.83 T Vol. 24h: $95.99 B dominance has been declining at the same time. Market analysts believe that this could be the beginning of a full-blown altcoin season, starting next month in June.
Over the past week, Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) in the overall crypto market dropped from 65% to 62%, breaking a five-month upward trend. In a chart shared on X by crypto analyst Crypto Auris, BTC.D is testing a crucial support at 62%, breaking under which will kick off a true altcoin season.
$BTC dominance is crashing!
Last week clearly signaled a rotation. $ETH and alts gained momentum as some capital flowed out of Bitcoin. BTC.D is now testing the critical 62% support zone.
For a true altseason to kick off, we need this breakdown to continue. Keep watching… pic.twitter.com/roPTV240Yg
— Crypto Auris (@crypto_auris) May 15, 2025
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.
BTC hasn’t broken through the Alpha Price… and that’s a powerful signal!
Let me share a personal secret with you:
I’ve always used the Alpha Price as one of my main metrics to buy and sell BTC — and many didn’t believe how accurate my swing trades were.
Here’s the logic:
-… https://t.co/nfkTrBbWpO pic.twitter.com/sJLqvWVSaU
— Joao Wedson (@joao_wedson) May 15, 2025
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.
$BTC dominance peaked at 64.4% on May 8. Since then, $ETH dominance climbed to 9.75% (+3%), altcoins to 22.35% (+2%), while stablecoins dropped to 6.3%. Despite the shift, $ETH and alts remain below their peaks of 18% and 28.5%. This is still a #BTC-driven cycle. pic.twitter.com/aPKsmImoWO
— glassnode (@glassnode) May 15, 2025
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.
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