Altcoin Season Alert: 5 Cryptos Primed to Outperform Bitcoin in 2025

Market indicators flash green as altcoins awaken from crypto winter hibernation. While Bitcoin still dominates headlines, these underdogs are quietly building momentum.

Ethereum (ETH): The OG smart contract platform just slashed gas fees by 40%—developers are migrating back in droves.

Solana (SOL): Network outages? What outages? SOL’s 300 TPS throughput still bypasses ETH’s congestion at 1/10th the cost.

Chainlink (LINK): The ’Oracle mafia’ keeps tightening its grip on DeFi—now securing 75% of all smart contract data feeds.

Polygon (MATIC): Ethereum’s favorite sidechain just onboarded another Fortune 500 company (bankers still pretend not to notice).

Avalanche (AVAX): The ’ETH killer’ narrative faded, but its institutional adoption didn’t—BlackRock’s tokenized fund runs on its subnet.

Warning: Past performance doesn’t guarantee future returns—especially in a market where ’fundamentals’ sometimes means which meme coin Elon tweeted about. DYOR before joining the altcoin rodeo.

Bitcoin’s dominance is starting to fade, and analysts are eyeing June 2025 as a possible kickoff for the next major altcoin season. According to Michael van de Poppe, the altcoin market is still in its early stages. With the Altcoin Season Index sitting at just 25, Bitcoin remains the dominant force. 

But this phase, he says, is precisely when smart accumulation begins, before the retail frenzy arrives. In his latest podcast, he mentioned his top five picks that reflect a balance between SAFE large caps and high-upside small caps.

Top Altcoins To Buy Now 

Chainlink (LINK): The No-Brainer Blue Chip

Van de Poppe calls chainlink a foundational piece in the crypto puzzle. As the leading oracle provider, LINK is crucial for bridging real-world data with blockchain, particularly across Ethereum, institutional use cases, and DeFi. Despite being deeply embedded in major ecosystems, LINK is still near its BTC pair lows, a signal, according to Van de Poppe, that it remains undervalued. As tokenization picks up and institutions deepen their crypto involvement, Chainlink could see a major revival in value.

Aave (AAVE): DeFi’s Gateway to TradFi

Aave is Van de Poppe’s second large-cap play, and he sees it as DeFi’s bridge into traditional finance. AAVE already supports decentralized lending and borrowing, but its potential lies in upcoming integrations with banks and yield-generating products. Michael hints at speculative connections with political interest in blockchain adoption, adding intrigue to Aave’s role in the next financial cycle. Like LINK, AAVE has built a base and is showing early signs of an uptrend, making it a relatively low-risk, steady-growth play.

Wormhole (W)

For small-cap exposure, Wormhole stands out. It serves as a vital cross-chain infrastructure layer, already facilitating asset movement for giants like BlackRock and Apollo. Van de Poppe notes that Wormhole is central to the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) narrative, and with tokenized funds now launching through it, adoption is accelerating. The weekly chart shows bullish divergence, suggesting accumulation has quietly begun. He sees this as one of the few small-caps with real utility and enterprise-grade backing.

Peaq (PEAQ)

Peaq represents Van de Poppe’s bet on Deepin, decentralized physical infrastructure, blending IoT, AI, and blockchain. It aims to build the foundation for machine-driven economies. With over 50 companies onboard and growing activity, Peaq is beginning to attract attention. Compared to early movers like Grass, he believes Peaq could offer 10x potential for investors who catch it early.

Alkimi (ADS)

Michael’s final pick, Alkimi, focuses on Web3 payments via an ad-based model. Despite macro pressures, ADS grew revenue from $1.2M to $5M and scaled to 10M daily transactions. With direct backing from Michael’s MN Capital Fund, ADS is well-positioned, in his view, for long-term upside. He considers the recent price drop a buying opportunity, not a red flag.

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