altcoin

Glassnode's altcoin cycle signal has reached a new high, indicating strong capital inflow into the altcoin market.Meanwhile, Bitcoin's market capitalization share remains stagnant below 60%, failing to break through a key resistance level.

According to a report by Decrypt, a report jointly released by the crypto analytics company Glassnode and the exchange Bybit shows that Bitcoin has increased by 28% over the past two years, while the median market cap altcoins have averaged a decline of 74%, and Ethereum has remained basically flat. The report views this divergence as a hallmark of the current market cycle, contrasting sharply with the previous "altcoin season" model where capital rotated from Bitcoin to smaller coins as the market matured.The distribution of leverage also shows a trend of centralization. The report points out that the open interest in Bitcoin futures accounts for about 2% of its market cap, while this ratio for speculative small coins like PEPE is close to 24%, indicating that risk bubbles are accumulating in the most dangerous corners of the market. The data is as of the settlement close on August 23, and since Glassnode covers a limited number of trading platforms, the relevant figures only reflect the venues it tracks.Institutional fund flows are also clearly leaning towards Bitcoin. The cumulative net inflow into spot Bitcoin ETFs is about $55.2 billion, far exceeding the approximately $13.1 billion for Ethereum ETFs, which have recently experienced several days of net outflows. Earlier this week, after the Federal Reserve released a dovish forecast, Bitcoin climbed back above $80,000, driving the total crypto market cap to rise by 4.6% in a single day to about $2.85 trillion, with coins like Solana, NEAR, and Uniswap seeing even larger gains that day.

Bankless co-founder David Hoffman posted on the X platform, stating, "We have now entered the altcoin season, and the real market moment has arrived earlier than expected." David Hoffman announced on May 21 that he had liquidated his ETH holdings and subsequently bought VVV, NEAR, ZEC, HYPE, and LIT, all of which have significantly outperformed ETH.

Bankless co-founder David Hoffman announced on May 21 that he had liquidated his ETH holdings and subsequently bought VVV, NEAR, ZEC, HYPE, and LIT, disclosing some entry prices: "NEAR at approximately $1.40, HYPE at approximately $45, ZEC at approximately $560, LIT at approximately $1.35."According to Gate market data, LIT is currently priced at $5.02, an increase of about 272% from the entry price; ZEC is currently priced at $1512.42, an increase of about 170%; NEAR is currently priced at $3.49, an increase of about 149%; HYPE is currently priced at $86.51, an increase of about 92%. Hoffman did not disclose the specific entry price for VVV, but if estimated at the May 21 price of $15.99, it is currently priced at $25.27, an increase of about 58%; during the same period, ETH rose from approximately $2127.47 to $2473.23, an increase of about 16%. The five altcoins he allocated significantly outperformed ETH during the same period.

According to Bitcoin.com, Matt Mena, a senior crypto research strategist at 21Shares, stated that in the context of approximately $603 million in cumulative net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs and a rebound in risk appetite for altcoins, Bitcoin's market performance in the fourth quarter is expected to strengthen significantly.Mena pointed out that BTC is currently supported around $77,000, and the likelihood of it pushing towards the $82,000 range by the end of the month is increasing. He listed potential target levels for the fourth quarter as $100,000 BTC, $3,500 ETH, $100 HYPE, and $130 SOL. Additionally, Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin in the last three weeks by 29% to 20%, and Hyperliquid is approaching $90, indicating that funds are rotating towards altcoins.

Bitfinex Alpha report shows that Bitcoin has been consolidating in the range of $77,100 to $81,300 over the past 20 trading days, with the current price close to the key support level at the lower end of the range. If it breaks above $81,300, the volume vacuum above may drive the price quickly up to $86,500. The options market has shifted protection to contracts expiring on September 18 ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.The report also points out that while Bitcoin's volatility has decreased, altcoins are performing actively, with all 29 major cryptocurrencies rising last week, Polkadot up 43%, and Zcash up 42%. The open interest in altcoin perpetual contracts has surpassed Bitcoin for the first time this week, a situation that historically often accompanies market correction risks.

Cryptoquant analyst Darkfost pointed out that the proportion of Memecoins in the total market capitalization of all altcoins has fallen to a historic low.

According to Coinalyze data, the open interest of altcoins has surpassed that of Bitcoin for the first time in over a year.

The Japanese listed company Remixpoint stated that it has sold all of its altcoin holdings, including approximately 901.45 ETH, 13,920 SOL, 1,191,200 XRP, and 2,802,300 DOGE, with transaction proceeds of about 5.54 million USD, realizing a profit of approximately 743,300 USD.After completing the above transactions, Bitcoin has become the only cryptocurrency asset held by Remixpoint. The company currently holds about 1,506 BTC and plans to configure and develop subsequent business around Bitcoin. As of the end of August, the company previously earned approximately 188,100 USD through ETH and Solana staking.

Trader Ansem posted that the altcoins of 2017 are essentially not much different from today's Meme coins. The former often attracted market funds through white papers and founder narratives, while today's Meme coins at least explicitly acknowledge that their essence is a form of attention trading.Ansem stated that he is currently more optimistic about Meme coins than ever before.

Bitcoin has risen about 24% in the past week, approaching $79,000, marking its best performance of 2023. Ethereum has increased about 30% during the same period, surpassing $2,500, but the Total3 index, excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, fell back after a morning surge, currently around $753 billion, recording a decline over the week.Bitcoin's dominance briefly rose to about 61% this week before falling back to around 59%, close to its yearly high. The CoinMarketCap altcoin season index is at 46, far below the 75 threshold that defines altcoin season, indicating that most altcoins have underperformed Bitcoin over the past 90 days.This round of market activity is mainly driven by the U.S. Treasury's announcement to double the long-term bond repurchase scale from $2 billion to $4 billion, with a weaker dollar prompting funds to flow into Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation. Trump subsequently met with crypto executives at the White House and pushed Congress to pass the Clarity Act. After Bitcoin broke through $70,000, it triggered a short squeeze, with Bitget Wallet research analysts estimating that over $4 billion in crypto shorts were liquidated within two to three days. If it continues to break through $80,000, it may open the way to $82,000 to $87,000.

According to analysis by Glassnode, the current altcoin market has entered an optimistic state, with approximately 85% of altcoin funding rates rising above their respective averages, marking the highest level for this metric since BTC was at historical highs.During the altcoin season, a similar funding rate environment may persist for several weeks.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost posted on the X platform, stating that there are clear signs of recovery in the altcoin market recently, and the market structure is changing. The "altcoin season" may have entered an early stage. Data shows that the total market capitalization of altcoins increased by about $215 billion in just three days, with a rise of over 24%, pushing the total market capitalization of altcoins back above $1 trillion. Darkfost pointed out that in this round of increase, small and medium-cap altcoins performed the strongest. Due to their lower circulating market capitalization, these assets are more sensitive to capital inflows and also have higher bidirectional volatility risks.From the data on the Binance platform, the signals of recovery in the altcoin market have further strengthened. Since November last year, about 80% to 85% of altcoins have been below the 200-day moving average (200-DMA), while currently, 56% of the altcoins listed on Binance have regained this key technical indicator, indicating that the market may be entering a new cyclical phase. Darkfost believes that this trend reversal is related to several positive signals for cryptocurrencies recently released by Trump. Trump stated that the U.S. will "massively purchase Bitcoin" and urged Congress to push the passage of the CLARITY Act, while also claiming that his administration has ended the previous unfriendly policies towards the cryptocurrency industry.Related remarks have boosted market sentiment, and against a backdrop of low trading volume and reduced selling pressure, a large amount of capital has begun to flow into the altcoin market, driving multiple sectors to rise simultaneously. Darkfost stated that based on historical experience, the current widespread increase in altcoins is usually seen as an important signal for the early start of altcoin season. However, he also warned that the market has entered an overbought area in the short term, and investors should be cautious of a phase adjustment. If the overall upward momentum continues, new investment opportunities may still arise.

According to Gate market data, as Bitcoin fell below $77,000, the crypto market experienced a pullback, with altcoins generally under pressure and declining. Among them:TAC is currently priced at $0.001672, down 40.86% in 24 hours;FHE is currently priced at $0.01978, down 30.03% in 24 hours;SQD is currently priced at $0.03, down 29.01% in 24 hours;PTB is currently priced at $0.0007364, down 27.11% in 24 hours;INX is currently priced at $0.006619, down 26.43% in 24 hours;BASED is currently priced at $0.07328, down 25.35% in 24 hours;SWARMS is currently priced at $0.007254, down 24.80% in 24 hours;BEAT is currently priced at $0.1342, down 24.18% in 24 hours.

Cryptocurrency market maker Wintermute stated that the next round of altcoin season may have only a few winners, as market funds are further concentrating on leading tokens. Wintermute's data shows that in the first half of 2026, institutional clients accounted for 72% of its over-the-counter trading spot volume, a record high. Institutional funds typically reduce activity about a day after a significant price increase, while retail funds maintain activity for an average of about three days, indicating that institutional capital tends to concentrate on a few tokens and exit trades more quickly.From an overall market perspective, CryptoQuant data shows that the trading volume of altcoins priced in Bitcoin has approached its lowest level since 2021. Currently, the top ten non-stablecoin altcoins account for approximately 80.5% of the market capitalization of non-Bitcoin, non-stablecoin crypto assets. Additionally, Kaiko data shows that the top ten altcoins now account for 63% of the overall altcoin trading volume.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, in the past 24 hours, BitMart has not processed any single withdrawal of altcoins, stablecoins, or Bitcoin exceeding $25,000, and on-chain data also does not show that retail investors, market makers, or project teams have made large withdrawals from BitMart.