Altcoin Seasons May Be a Thing of the Past as Investors Get Picky

The era of altcoin seasons may be over, according to analysts, as investors become more selective and cautious. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju argues that the traditional cycle where capital automatically rotates from Bitcoin into altcoins has largely disappeared. In previous cycles, once Bitcoin rallied, profits would naturally flow into Ethereum and eventually into smaller altcoins, creating a broad market-wide 'altcoin season'. However, Ju believes this dynamic is no longer guaranteed.

Market data shared by analyst Darkfost shows that liquidity has left the crypto market since October 2025. Since then, Bitcoin's market capitalization has fallen from $2.48 trillion to roughly $1.28 trillion, effectively cutting its value in half. Altcoins have not fared any better, with large-cap altcoins holding a combined market cap of around $743 billion and small/mid-cap projects accounting for just $273 billion.

Ethereum remains the key driver of altcoin cycles, according to analyst seliseli46. Historical patterns suggest ETH is taking longer each cycle to reach new highs, with a fractal-based projection pointing toward a potential mid-2029 window for another peak.