Altseason (from English 'altseason') is a period in the crypto market when the capitalization of alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) grows significantly faster than Bitcoin. This usually happens according to the scheme:
Bitcoin leads - BTC and large market caps grow first.
Flow effect - Investors take profits in BTC and seek riskier assets with greater growth potential.
Altcoin mania - Sharp growth of small and medium capitalizations (often x5-x100 in weeks).
Sharp correction - The decline of altcoins is significantly stronger than Bitcoin's drop.
Historical examples:
2017: Ethereum grew by 13,000%, Ripple - by 54,000%
2021: Solana - x17,000%, Dogecoin - x15,000%
⚠️ Why the altseason may not repeat in 202x
🏛️ Institutionalization of the market
Large funds avoid risk - Instead of risky altcoins, institutions prefer BTC, ETH, and ETFs.
Strict compliance requirements - Hedge funds cannot invest in assets with low liquidity and unverified legal expertise.
Example: BlackRock and Fidelity are focused solely on Bitcoin.
🔐 Regulatory pressure
The SEC under Trump tightened the rules - New liquidity and disclosure requirements make launching 'junk' tokens nearly impossible.
Fight against fraud - Regulators are blocking unlicensed platforms where pump&dump schemes were traditionally launched.
Statistics: Trading volume on DEX fell by 40% after KYC requirements were introduced.
💸 Changed token economics
No cheap money - High Fed rates make risky investments less attractive.
Venture funds have become more cautious - The volume of investments in early-stage projects fell by 60% by 2024.
Meme coins have taken the niche of altcoins - Retail investors have switched to TRUMP, MAGA, and other political meme coins.
📉 Technical factors
Bitcoin dominance reached 58% - BTC's capitalization exceeded $1.8 trillion, leaving little room for altcoins.
Correlation with NASDAQ - The crypto market has become more dependent on traditional finance, where blue chips dominate.
De-risking - At the first signs of volatility, investors flee to BTC, not altcoins.
📊 Comparative table: Then and now
🧠 Expert opinions
Mike Novogratz (Galaxy Digital):
"The era of 100x returns on shitcoins has ended. Now we need to look for quality projects with real economics"Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum):
"The market has matured. Now growth will come not from speculation, but from real users and applications"JPMorgan analysts:
"Bitcoin dominance will increase. The altseason in the traditional sense is over"
💎 What awaits investors instead of an altseason?
Segmented growth - Individual sectors will grow:
RWA (tokenization of assets)
DePIN (decentralized infrastructure)
AI blockchains (projects at the intersection of AI and crypto)
Meme coins as the new altseason - Political and cultural meme coins will give x100 returns, but with huge risks.
Corporate tokens - Large companies (X, Telegram) will launch their own tokens with real economics.
Staking and yield - Instead of speculation, investors will earn income through staking and restaking.
🔮 Conclusion: Is the altseason dead? Long live the altseason!
The traditional altseason with uniform growth of all coins may indeed be a thing of the past. However, this does not mean that investors cannot make money on altcoins. A transformation will occur:
✅ Quality over quantity - Growth will only be shown by projects with real utility.
✅ New growth mechanics - Instead of pump&dump, tokenomics and built-in economics will work.
✅ Segmentation - There will not be a 'season of all altcoins', but there will be seasons of individual sectors.
Investors need to restructure strategies:
Study fundamental indicators (TVL, active addresses, yield)
Diversify the portfolio between BTC, ETH, and quality altcoins
Prepare for long storage periods instead of quick pumps
Altseason is not dead - it has simply grown out of short pants and has become more mature and selective.
