Altcoin Season 2025: When, How, And Which Tokens To Watch

The crypto market is transforming and is looking to be on track to witness the first full-fledged Altcoin Season of 2025. The supply flowing into Ethereum and other altcoins from Bitcoin is painting a bullish picture at the moment.

The question remains: When should the market expect the altcoin season, and which tokens should investors watch? BeInCrypto has answered these questions.

The Altcoin Season Everyone Has Been Waiting For

The crypto market is currently in a transitional phase, sitting halfway toward declaring an altcoin season. An altcoin season is officially recognized when over 75% of the top 50 cryptocurrencies outperform Bitcoin. 

At the moment, this figure stands at 49%, signaling that the market is moving towards altcoin dominance but has not fully transitioned yet. As more altcoins gain traction against Bitcoin, investor sentiment is beginning to shift, which could lead to an altcoin season in the near future.

Top 50 Altcoins’ Performance Against Bitcoin. Source: BlockchainCenter

This halfway mark suggests that the altcoin market is still in a consolidation phase, with some tokens beginning to outperform Bitcoin; however, it could likely still arrive before the end of Q2 2025.

Talking to BeInCrypto, analyst Michaël van de Poppe stated that macroeconomic factors are crucial in dictating the movement of crypto assets.

“Macro-economic is super important for investors to shift away from risk-off towards risk-on. That’s why there’s a strong inverse correlation between Gold and Ethereum. When Gold consolidates, that’s the moment where riskier assets like Ethereum start to outperform. The other way around, if Gold rallies in a strong way, that’s usually a period where altcoins aren’t performing. On top of that, the crypto-specific hype has increased due to the MA’s and IPOs recently, but also due to the approval of the regulatory bills in the US,” said Michaël.

Bitcoin’s dominance has recently started to regain pace, following a 6.1% decline earlier this month. The drop in Bitcoin dominance was initially seen as a signal that an altcoin season might be approaching. 

Historically, Bitcoin’s falling dominance indicates that altcoins are outperforming the crypto king, leading to broader market growth. However, if Bitcoin’s dominance picks up again, it could shift the market back toward Bitcoin’s influence. This would delay the arrival of an altcoin season. Michaël believes this would likely be due to macroeconomic factors.

“If the altcoin markets won’t be continuing their upwards momentum, it’s primarily due to reasons outside of the crypto markets, just like the previous six months have been yielding negative returns for anything in the crypto markets due to the fact that the macro has completely shifted. If that risk-off appetite comes back into the markets, perhaps due to trade wars, actual wars, or a potential recession, we could be seeing the altcoin markets fall again. However, the opposite of that case is that we’re likely going to be seeing a strong upward market,” Michaël stated.

Bitcoin Dominance Analysis. Source:  TradingView

Ethereum Is On Track Of Gains

Ethereum’s price has surged 55% since the start of the month, inching closer to the $4,000 mark. This growth is primarily due to the capital shift from Bitcoin to Ethereum, attracting investors seeking higher returns. 

“Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin by more than 70%, signalling that we’re now in an Ethereum market. The reason behind this sudden shift is the regulatory shift in the United States. The GENIUS bill approval and the acceptance of the CLARITY act opened the doors for institutional liquidity to flow towards Ethereum, as the Ethereum ETF has seen more inflow than the Bitcoin ETF over the past weeks,” Michaël told BeInCrypto.

ETH Price Analysis. Source:  TradingView

The recent growth in Ethereum is likely to benefit altcoins built on its second-generation blockchain. These coins could be the standout performers during the altcoin season that investors should watch.

“It’s very likely that coins that are providing utility within the Ethereum ecosystem (Aave, Optimism, Celestia, Arbitrum) will thrive when Ethereum is doing well.  Additionally, if there are any tokens that have links to the US would likely outperform others as there will be hype attached to them,” Michaël noted.

The positive momentum around Ethereum is expected to push its price toward the $4,000 mark and potentially beyond in the coming days. With continued capital flow from Bitcoin, Ethereum could reach new highs, influencing the broader crypto market. Investors are watching for signs of further bullish action as Ethereum leads the way.