Altseason 2025: The Crypto Market Teeters on the Edge of a Major Breakout

Forget ’wait and see’—the altcoin market is flashing signals that could make or break portfolios this cycle.

The Dominos Are Lining Up

Bitcoin’s sideways grind has traders pivoting to alts—ETH/BTC pairs show strength, and mid-caps are waking up. Meme coins? Still pumping, because apparently fundamentals are so 2023.

Liquidity Shifts Tell the Story

Stablecoin inflows hit a 90-day high while CEX alt reserves thin out. That smell? Either opportunity or the burnt remains of leverage traders.

The Institutional Wildcard

BlackRock’s new altcoin ETF filings suggest Wall Street might—shockingly—want a piece of the action after missing Bitcoin’s run. Better late than never, right?

One thing’s clear: The market’s either priming for a historic altseason or the mother of all bull traps. Either way, buckle up.

Not Here Yet, but Maybe Soon?

Going by the X moniker, Vandell, Black Swan Capitalist’s co-founder said the altcoin season hasn’t started yet, mostly because interest rates in the US remained higher for longer. Recall that the US Fed refused to lower the rates on several consecutive FOMC meetings but is anticipated to do so later this year.

Vandell believes monetary expansion has begun, which will unlock the next phase and perhaps drive further capital into riskier investment options like cryptocurrencies.

Here’s why altcoin season hasn’t started yet,

rates stayed higher for longer,

extending the business cycle,

But monetary expansion is picking up,

The next phase is coming. pic.twitter.com/lAXa5otv3K

— Vandell | Black Swan Capitalist (@vandell33) May 23, 2025

Crypto Rover asked his 1.2 million followers on X why this cycle WOULD be any different from all the previous ones, in which there was always an altseason at the end.

Coinvo believes the best time to get rich via altcoins is coming, even though it might not feel like it now.

AltcoinGordon noted that ETH’s climb to and just over $2,700 is a clear sign that the altcoin season is upon us. The asset was among the poorest performers up until mid-April when it plunged from $4,000 to under $1,400 since the December peak. However, it picked up the pace in the past month and now sits around that level.

ETH is at $2,700

Alt season is coming

Are you prepared? pic.twitter.com/mBSRFqDqwi

— Gordon (@AltcoinGordon) May 23, 2025

Falling Bitcoin Dominance

Perhaps the most vital metric that demonstrates in which way the tides are going in the cryptocurrency space is Bitcoin’s dominance. The higher it goes, the more BTC dominates the market, and vice versa. After the US elections, it flew to almost 62% on TradingView but plunged below 55% in early December when alts were skyrocketing.

However, it has been gradually increasing in the past few months and peaked above 65% on May 7. Since then, it dropped to 62 before it recovered some ground to 63.5% as of now.

Although it’s still very early and the metric hasn’t really lost any steam, Carl Moon seemed optimistic that these are the initial signs indicating that the altcoins season is “imminent.”

BITCOIN DOMINANCE IS FALLING!

ALTCOIN SEASON IS IMMINENT! pic.twitter.com/cPFCoceTVl

— Carl Moon (@TheMoonCarl) May 22, 2025

Then again, it’s worth noting that BTC and the crypto market as a whole often move in the opposite direction of what people expect, so this many analysts and influencers waiting for an altseason might not be good news for altcoin holders.