Altcoin Season Starting? Analyst Spots ETH/BTC Chart Echoing 2017’s Epic Bull Run

Forget the Bitcoin dominance narrative—a classic chart is flashing a signal that hasn't been seen since the last crypto mania.

The Ghost of Bull Runs Past

The ETH/BTC pair, a critical gauge of altcoin strength, is allegedly tracing a pattern that mirrors its behavior just before the 2017 altcoin explosion. Analysts are pointing to a specific breakout structure, suggesting Ethereum and its smaller-cap cousins might be gearing up to steal the spotlight. It's the kind of technical tea-leaf reading that gets portfolios moving.

Beyond the Lines on a Screen

This isn't just about squiggles on a trading terminal. A breakout here would signal a massive capital rotation—a potential tidal wave of money flowing out of perceived safety and into higher-risk, higher-reward altcoin plays. Market sentiment, often a self-fulfilling prophecy in crypto, could shift overnight. Traders are already dusting off watchlists filled with projects that promise to, ahem, 'disrupt' everything.

The Cynic's Corner

Of course, for every chart predicting a moonshot, there's a fund manager somewhere quietly rebalancing into treasury bonds—the ultimate 'disruption' to a portfolio's downside. History rhymes, but it never pays the bills on a leveraged long position that gets liquidated.

The setup is there. The narrative is brewing. Whether this is the real deal or just another head-fake before the old guard reasserts control will be the trillion-dollar question. Buckle up.

Altcoins may be entering their strongest phase in years, and one analyst believes the charts are already giving early warnings. Popular crypto analyst Moustache has pointed to a rare ETH/BTC signal that has marked the start of every major altcoin boom since 2017. 

This same signal has just appeared again, and the market may be waking up at the perfect time.

Classic ETH/BTC Signal Just Flashed Again

According to Moustache, the start of an altcoin season often shows up when the SMA100 crosses below the EMA100 on the ETH/BTC chart. This crossover has now happened once more. 

In every previous cycle, this same MOVE triggered long altcoin rallies, including the strong 2020–2021 run.

What makes this moment even more interesting is that ETH/BTC has broken a 3.5-month downtrend, which often signals money rotating from Bitcoin into altcoins. When ETH gains strength against BTC, altcoins typically follow with even bigger moves.

Institutional Rotation into Altcoins Has Already Started

The charts are not the only indication. Real-world activity is now matching the technical signals.

Institutions have already begun rotating into altcoins. Coinpedia recently reported that two major players, Amber Group and Metalapha, quietly withdrew 9,000 ETH worth over $28 million from Binance in just a few hours.

This is part of a much bigger trend. Over the last five months, large investors have accumulated nearly 4 million ETH.

At the same time, capital is flowing into other top altcoins. XRP ETFs saw $38.04 million in net inflows, followed by ethereum ETFs with $35.49 million and Solana ETFs with $1.18 million.

Meanwhile, bitcoin ETFs posted $60.48 million in net outflows, showing a clear shift of attention away from BTC.

MACD and a 4.5-Year Wedge Add to the Bullish Case

Moustache also highlights the MACD on ETH/BTC, which now mirrors previous reversal patterns. Each time this setup appeared, Ethereum led the market into a new altcoin boom.

Even larger is the giant falling wedge on the ETH/BTC macro chart, which has been forming for 4.5 years. If this wedge breaks, it could lift the entire altcoin market, not just Ethereum.

2026 will be the year of #Altcoins.

This falling wedge has been forming for 4.5 years now.
A breakout will affect the entire Altcoin market. pic.twitter.com/qI205Z1Ktk

Timeline for Altcoin to begin Rally?

With the same historical signals flashing again, institutions shifting money into altcoins, Moustache believes the altcoin bull market may already be quietly starting, and 2026 could be the year when altcoins see a major rally.

Meanwhile, Crypto Total Market Cap is now hovering around $1.24 trillion.