Home > Articles > Explained > Altcoin Season Index Explained: When Will Altseason Start?
Written by: Sourabh Parihar
Reviewed by: Kritika Mehta
Published: May 27, 2025, 4:04 PM
Last Updated: May 27, 2025, 6:06 PM
Altcoin Season Index: Understanding the Timing of Altseason
The cryptocurrency market shifts between periods of Bitcoin dominance and altcoin rallies, each offering unique investment opportunities. One such phase is Altcoin Season (Altseason)—a period when select altcoins outperform Bitcoin in returns. To track this trend, traders and investors turn to the Altcoin Season Index, a helpful indicator that reflects when altcoins are gaining momentum.
Let’s break down what this index is, how it works, and why it matters for crypto investors.
📌 What Are Altcoins?
Altcoins are any cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. The term originated to distinguish Bitcoin from the growing number of digital assets offering alternative features, such as faster transactions, greater scalability, and innovative use cases.
Popular altcoins include:
Ethereum (ETH)
Solana (SOL)
Cardano (ADA)
XRP
SUI
These coins often represent emerging technologies or improvements on Bitcoin’s original framework.
📈 What is Altcoin Season?
Altcoin Season, or Altseason, is a market cycle during which altcoins outperform Bitcoin in terms of price growth. This typically occurs when investors seek new opportunities beyond Bitcoin, causing capital to flow into altcoin markets.
📊 Example:
During the 2017–2018 bull run:
Bitcoin dominance dropped from 86% to 38%
Coins like Ethereum and XRP experienced massive price increases
Altseason often sees:
High volatility
Increased trading volume
Greater interest in emerging tokens
However, it’s not without risk. Rapid price swings can lead to significant losses if not managed carefully.
📉 What is the Altcoin Season Index?
The Altcoin Season Index is a tool that compares the performance of the top 50 altcoins against Bitcoin over the past 90 days. It helps investors assess whether the market is in a Bitcoin-dominant phase or shifting toward altcoins.
Score range: 0 to 100
Higher score = Altcoin outperformance
Lower score = Bitcoin dominance
⚠️ Note: The index does not predict future performance. It simply reflects recent trends to help guide investment decisions.
The index is updated frequently and available on crypto analytics platforms such as CoinMarketCap, making it accessible even for novice investors.
🔎 How Does It Work?
The index calculates the percentage of altcoins that have outperformed Bitcoin in the last 90 days.
📘 Example:
If 15 out of 20 top altcoins have outperformed Bitcoin → Index = 75% → Suggests Altcoin Season
If only 5 out of 20 altcoins beat Bitcoin → Index = 25% → Reflects Bitcoin dominance
A reading above 75% typically signals an active Altseason, while anything significantly lower suggests Bitcoin remains the top performer in the current cycle.
🧠 Conclusion
The Altcoin Season Index offers a simple yet powerful snapshot of market momentum between altcoins and Bitcoin. While it doesn’t guarantee profits, it’s a valuable resource for understanding market shifts and refining investment strategies.
Whether you're a seasoned trader or new to crypto, monitoring this index can help you stay informed and ahead of emerging market trends.
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