Altseason Stalls at 22—Here’s Where Smart Money’s Flowing Now

Crypto markets are stuck in neutral—altcoin index flatlines at 22 while Bitcoin dominance creeps up. But beneath the surface, capital’s rotating into three sectors: AI-powered tokens, layer-2 sleepers, and perpetual DEX plays.

Forget the ‘wait for altseason’ mantra. Institutions are already positioning—just not where retail’s watching. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s latest ‘crypto advisory team’ charges $500/hr to explain what a memecoin is.

• The Altcoin Season Index remains at 22, indicating Bitcoin continues to outperform over 75% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies during the past 90 days.
• Bitcoin dominance has strengthened as investors seek safer crypto assets amid market uncertainty, creating potential buying opportunities in overlooked altcoins.
• Three innovative crypto projects offer compelling value right now by solving real problems in the ecosystem, creating benefits whether Bitcoin maintains its leadership or the broader market heats up.

The cryptocurrency market continues to show a strong preference for Bitcoin, with the latest data from CoinMarketCap showing the Altcoin Season Index holding steady at 22. 

This indicates that only 22 projects among the top 100 cryptocurrencies have outperformed Bitcoin over the past 90 days. This firmly places the market in “Bitcoin Season,” with the original cryptocurrency maintaining dominance over altcoins. 

: Altcoin performance has been outstripped by Bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s strong position stems largely from the unprecedented influx of institutional capital following the January launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs. These investment vehicles have created a direct pipeline between Wall Street and crypto, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF alone recently attracting nearly $1.5 billion in a single week of inflows. Unlike retail traders who frequently rotate between assets, institutional players tend to buy and hold Bitcoin for the long term.

: Bitcoin’s outstanding performance has kept altcoins honest for much of this year.

Opportunities hidden in Bitcoin’s shadow

Historical patterns show how quickly the crypto market can flip. During the 2017-2018 boom, Bitcoin’s dominance nosedived from over 80% to approximately 38% as retail money flooded into alternative projects. The 2020-2021 run was even more dramatic, with DeFi protocols, NFTs, and meme coins exploding while Bitcoin took the back seat. 

More recently, altcoins briefly outperformed Bitcoin back in March, with Solana jumping as much as 11% while Dogecoin and Avalanche each climbed around 8%, compared to Bitcoin’s more modest 4.3% gain, according to Bloomberg data. 

While this momentum didn’t immediately sustain through April and early May, it demonstrated how quickly altcoins can outpace Bitcoin when risk appetite returns to the market.

When Bitcoin stabilizes after significant growth periods—as we’re witnessing—smart money starts hunting for the best crypto to buy now. Investors who position themselves ahead of the crowd have historically made immense returns during this period.

The following three projects stand out for solving persistent challenges in the crypto ecosystem that matter in every market cycle:

Bitcoin Pepe: Bitcoin’s missing high-speed trading layer

Bitcoin PEPE brings something entirely new to the market—lightning-fast trading built directly on Bitcoin itself. Instead of creating another altcoin that competes with BTC, it supercharges what Bitcoin can already do by addressing its biggest limitation: speed.

Think of what happens when you combine Bitcoin’s unrivaled security and $2 trillion market with transaction speeds that match or exceed Solana. That’s exactly what BPEP delivers with its innovative PEP-20 token standard—the ability to create and trade tokens natively on Bitcoin at thousands of transactions per second.

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This gives Bitcoin Pepe a distinct advantage in the current environment, as it rides Bitcoin’s strength while trading at attractive valuations due to the depressed altcoin market. At $0.031 in stage 9 of its presale, BPEP offers early access to a project that doesn’t need to wait for an alt season to thrive.

CartelFi: Extracting yield from idle meme capital

With the Altcoin Season Index hovering, most meme tokens are hibernating in wallets, doing absolutely nothing for their holders. CartelFi spotted this missed opportunity—tens of billions in dormant capital just waiting to be put to work during Bitcoin’s extended dominance.

The platform transforms dormant meme assets into productive capital by creating specialized liquidity pools designed specifically for the unique characteristics of viral tokens. 

Unlike traditional DeFi protocols that force users to sell their memes for stablecoins to earn yields, CartelFi’s innovation lets holders maintain full exposure to potential price explosions while simultaneously earning substantial returns.

There’s some brilliantly innovative tokenomics under the hood, too. The platform uses up to 100% of its revenue to buy back and burn CARTFI tokens, creating a hyper-deflationary system. As more users deposit their meme coins into CartelFi’s pools, more revenue is generated, leading to more tokens being bought and burned—continuously reducing supply while increasing demand.

For investors navigating an extended Bitcoin season with the Altcoin Index at 22, CARTFI at $0.045 in stage 13 of its presale represents a rare opportunity. 

Rather than sitting idle waiting for the market to change, CartelFi users earn substantial passive income while preserving their full growth potential, making CARTFI one of the best cryptos to buy now for both the present and future.

PepeX: Democratizing token creation during Bitcoin’s dominance

PepeX transforms how new crypto projects launch by making the entire process instant, accessible, and backed by AI. In a market where success typically requires insider connections and massive marketing budgets, PepeX’s innovation levels the playing field completely.

The platform lets anyone deploy a token with a single click, while the AKIRA AI Growth Engine handles all marketing automatically—creating content, building community, and driving engagement without human intervention. This gives promising projects immediate traction regardless of their connections or budget size.

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PepeX’s game-changing 5/95 token model caps founder allocations at just 5%, solving the trust problem that’s plagued crypto for years. This built-in protection against insider dumping creates unprecedented alignment between creators and communities, supporting projects with genuine long-term potential.

At $0.0255 with $2m raised so far, PEPX represents immediate access to a platform that’s already facilitating the next generation of crypto innovations. 

Positioning for the inevitable rotation back to altcoins

The current Altcoin Season Index reading of 22 confirms we remain firmly in Bitcoin Season, but market cycles are never permanent. 

While most investors are fixated on Bitcoin’s momentum, the best crypto to buy now is undoubtedly found in high-quality infrastructure projects with strong fundamentals and real utility. 

The Altcoin Season Index may be stuck today, but smart investors are busy positioning themselves for when the dial moves. 

Bitcoin Pepe, CartelFi, and PepeX represent compelling opportunities in today’s market, delivering immediate value while positioned perfectly for explosive growth when the market rotates once more.