Crypto's famed “altseason” — a time during bull markets when smaller-cap cryptocurrencies skyrocket in value — could be coming very soon, according to market analysts.
On April 11, trader and analyst ‘Rekt Capital’ observed that the altcoin market capitalization “has been the only constant” despite Bitcoin’s ( BTC ) price whipsawing over the past few weeks. It has been consistently retesting the $315 billion level as support for weeks now, he added.
Crypto traders have been keenly observing altcoin markets as they represent higher risk-to-reward returns, with many expected to surge during the next phase of the bull market.
Historically, altcoin price appreciate lags Bitcoin, and charts such as the altcoin market capitalization and Bitcoin dominance can provide traders some signals for when altcoins may be moving into a bull season of their own.
Altcoin market cap excluding top 10. Source: Rekt Capital
However, altcoins aren’t there yet. Following highs in mid-March, most altcoins have corrected where, as BTC remains close to its all-time high of over $70,000.
Analysts are now looking at the Bitcoin market dominance chart with renewed interest though, which has remained over 50% since September 2023 and is currently at 54.5%, according to TradingView.
Analyst ‘Crypto Nova’ says that the shift between Bitcoin dominance rising and dropping is “when altcoins truly start shining.”
This hasn’t happened yet, but the “higher highs and higher lows with strong-up candles aren’t there anymore,” she said before adding, “The chart is moving sideways, which is almost always an occurrence before a reversal.”
Bitcoin dominance. Source: Crypto Nova
Technical analyst ‘Titan of Crypto’ echoed the sentiment in a post on X last week, stating that “I personally believe there will be another altseason.”
The analyst referred to the Ichimoku technical indicator which they claimed “will play a big role in blocking Bitcoin dominance, initiating the altseason.”
Meanwhile, analyst Kevin Svenson told his 140,000 followers in a post on X earlier this week that the altcoin market cap is “positioned for a massive bull run.” “People often forget ... after Bitcoin's halving is when the narrative shifts toward alts,” he added.
Altcoins are trading mostly flat on the day as total crypto market capitalization remains around $2.74 trillion.
Aside from outliers such as Toncoin (TON), which recently hit an all-time high, most high-cap altcoins remain down heavily from their 2021 peak prices.
XRP , Dogecoin, Cardano, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash, Polkadot, and Chainlink are at least 60% down from their peaks, whereas Bitcoin is less than 5% down from its ATH.
