This $DEXE chart is the perfect example of how altcoin season really works—and how it used to work.

Let’s keep it simple.

Take DEXE as a representation of the entire alt market. At one point, it rose 15%—and people started calling it the beginning of “alt season.” Excitement kicked in, and retail began accumulating at the top, thinking it was just getting started.

But then, like clockwork, DEXE dropped 44%.

Now do the math: a 15% gain followed by a 44% fall. Even if it starts recovering, it won’t just shoot back up overnight. It needs a steady 79% rise from the bottom just to return to its original high. Yes—79%, not 44%—that’s how percentage recovery math works.

That’s the catch.

Someone might say, “Okay, I’ll enter now while it's low.”

Take $WCT as your warning.

Another might say, “I’ll enter during consolidation.”

Look at $SOL — stuck between $100 and $200 for months.

The reality is this: the market cycle has changed. This isn't the 2021 alt season where coins would pump 100% in a week and everyone made money. Now, coins pump 10%, drop 20%, and take weeks to recover to break-even—leaving you stuck, not profitable.

And if your portfolio is small, you're even more vulnerable.

Here’s why:

Say you enter with $500. The coin rises 10%—you make $50. Then it drops 20%—you lose $110. Now to recover to your original amount, the coin needs to rise 25%, and you're still mentally drained, margin-depleted, and likely to exit early.

That’s not alt season—that’s a trap.

So don’t just chase movement. Understand the math.

In this market, clarity wins—not hype.