Altcoin season (or altseason) is a period in the cryptocurrency market when alternative coins (altcoins) — meaning all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (eg$ETH , $SOL , ADA etc)— significantly outperform Bitcoin in terms of price gains.
Key characteristics of altcoin season:
Altcoins rise faster than Bitcoin: Many altcoins show higher percentage gains than Bitcoin over a sustained period.
Money flows from Bitcoin into altcoins: Investors often take profits from Bitcoin and reallocate into smaller-cap coins seeking higher returns.
Broad market enthusiasm: There's increased interest, trading volume, and media attention around a wide range of cryptocurrencies, not just Bitcoin.
New projects and narratives: This season is often driven by hype around certain sectors like DeFi, NFTs, gaming, or Layer 2s.
When does it usually happen?
Altcoin seasons often follow strong Bitcoin rallies, when BTC stabilizes or consolidates, giving altcoins a chance to catch up or outperform.
Some important Altcoins
Ethereum (ETH)
binance coins $BNB
Solana (SOL)
Cardano (ADA)
XRP
Palkadot (DOT)
Chainlink(LINK)
AVALANCHE (AVAX)
How altcoins season works?
At first Bitcoin leads the market
Bitcoin dominance the peaks
Money starts to rotate in altcoins. Where profits from bitcoin are invested into the altcoins (ETH, SOL, ADA, BNB) which rise faster than BTC
FOMO and market Hype
And Eventually the season ends where investers often cycle back to BTC or stablecoin
