
Gulshan-E-Wafa
2025/08/18 12:41
⚡ Urgency/FOMO: "Don’t miss the Shift: Altseason May Be Closer Than You Think.
✅️ "Path to Altseason," which is a cyclical framework that crypto traders use to anticipate when altcoins (non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies) may see explosive gains compared to Bitcoin. Let’s break down the phases and their implications:
Phase 1: $BTC Bitcoin
Characteristics:
Inflows of money primarily into Bitcoin, causing price surges.
Investors are risk-averse early on, sticking to BTC as the "safest" crypto.
Overlap signals:
Some money trickles into Ethereum.
Ethereum starts oscillating in performance relative to BTC and may begin outperforming.
Implication: This phase reflects the early bull cycle where confidence returns, but risk appetite is still limited to Bitcoin.
Phase 2: Ethereum
Characteristics:
Ethereum begins outperforming Bitcoin.
Market chatter about "the flippening" (ETH overtaking BTC in market cap).
Overlap signals:
Capital rotation into large-cap altcoins (e.g., ADA, SOL, XRP).
Implication: Risk appetite grows as traders diversify beyond Bitcoin into ETH, then begin considering other top projects.
Phase 3: Large Caps
Characteristics:
ETH continues to outperform BTC.
Large-cap altcoins go parabolic.
Overlap signals:
Even some smaller-cap altcoins with strong fundamentals begin pumping.
Implication: Confidence in altcoins is now strong. Institutional and retail investors expand beyond ETH, spreading capital across the top 20–50 projects.
Phase 4: Altseason
Characteristics:
Large caps blow off tops (extreme vertical moves).
Mid, low, and micro-cap coins all pump together.
Large caps outperform both BTC and ETH.
Everything pumps regardless of fundamentals (parabolic retail frenzy).
Meme coins dominate conversation, mania and euphoria peak.
Implication: This is the climax of the cycle. Extreme greed drives irrational price action. Historically, this is followed by sharp corrections and the beginning of a bear market.
Overall Analysis
The framework reflects the liquidity rotation in crypto markets:
Starts with BTC (safe play) → ETH (higher upside) → large caps (diversification) → small/micro caps (speculation).
Each phase overlaps with the next, showing capital doesn’t leave one asset entirely but trickles down.
Sentiment: Moves from cautious optimism → confidence → speculation → euphoria (often a market top).
Risk: Each phase introduces more risk and volatility, peaking at Altseason.
✅ Takeaway for traders/investors:
Early gains are often in BTC → ETH.
Risk increases dramatically moving into large/mid/micro caps.
Altseason = highest potential returns but also highest risk of blow-off top .
Great — let’s map this “Path to Altseason” framework onto the two biggest modern crypto bull runs: 2017 and 2020–2021.
📊 2017 Bull Run (Classic Altseason Example)
Phase 1: Bitcoin
Timeline: Jan – Oct 2017
🔴What happened:
Bitcoin dominated inflows, rallying from ~$1,000 in January to ~$6,000 by October.
ETH and other alts lagged for most of this period.
Overlap:
By mid-2017, ETH started gaining attention (ICO boom).
Phase 2: Ethereum $ETH
Timeline: May – June 2017
What happened:
Ethereum exploded from ~$50 in March to ~$400 by June.
Narratives about ETH "flipping" BTC surfaced during the ICO frenzy.
Overlap:
Capital began rotating into large-cap alts like XRP, LTC, and DASH.
Phase 3: Large Caps
Timeline: Oct – Dec 2017
🔴What happened:
ETH, $XRP , and $LTC outperformed BTC.
XRP went parabolic (up ~1,000% in Dec alone).
Large caps started leading.
Phase 4: Altseason
Timeline: Dec 2017 – Jan 2018
🔴What happened:
EVERYTHING pumped — from large caps to micro caps.
Even joke coins and obscure projects skyrocketed.
Total mania: retail FOMO, mainstream news hype, huge social media presence.
Result:
Blow-off top. Bitcoin peaked at ~$20k (Dec 2017).
Ethereum peaked ~$1.4k (Jan 2018).
Altseason crashed hard in early 2018, starting a multi-year bear market.
📊 2020–2021 Bull Run (Two Altseasons)
Phase 1: Bitcoin
Timeline: Sep – Dec 2020
🔴What happened:
Institutional inflows (MicroStrategy, Tesla).
BTC surged from ~$10k to ~$40k by Jan 2021.
Phase 2: Ethereum
Timeline: Jan – April 2021
What happened:
ETH started outperforming BTC.
ETH went from ~$700 in Jan to ~$4,300 by May.
Talk of "the flippening" returned.
Overlap:
Large caps (ADA, BNB, DOT, SOL) began huge runs.
Phase 3: Large Caps
Timeline: Feb – May 2021
What happened:
Large caps went parabolic.
BNB rose from ~$40 in Jan to ~$690 in May.
ADA, SOL, DOT, and XRP all had massive rallies.
Phase 4: Altseason #1
Timeline: April – May 2021
What happened:
Everything pumped: memecoins (DOGE, SHIB) exploded.
$DOGE hit ~$0.70 (700x from 2020 lows).
Ethereum dominance surged; BTC dominance collapsed.
Result:
May 2021 crash (BTC fell from ~$64k → $30k).
Short bear phase through summer.
Mini Reset → Second Altseason
Phase 1–3 Restart: BTC → ETH → large caps cycle repeated after July 2021.
Phase 4 Altseason #2:
Sep – Nov 2021: Solana, Avalanche, meme coins (SHIB, FLOKI) went insane.
Total retail mania again.
Result:
BTC hit new ATH (~$69k). ETH peaked ~$4.9k.
Blow-off top → full bear market in 2022.
✅ Key Takeaways
Both 2017 and 2021 followed this 4-phase model almost perfectly.
BTC leads → ETH outperforms → large caps pump → altseason mania.
The end of altseason = blow-off top + retail euphoria → followed by brutal crashes.
In 2021, the cycle happened twice due to huge liquidity and stimulus.
Absolutely! Let’s take a look at where the 2025 crypto market currently sits in the “Path to Altseason” framework:
🔴🟢2025 Market Snapshot: 🔴Which Phase Are We In?
Phase 1: Bitcoin
Bitcoin is firmly established as the leader in 2025, having soared to new all-time highs—surpassing $120,000 in mid-July .
Regulatory tailwinds and launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to drive institutional adoption .
Conclusion: Phase 1 is well behind us, having served as the initial catalyst for this cycle.
Phase 2: Ethereum
Reports from FBS and CoinGecko show capital rotation underway: Ethereum has begun outperforming Bitcoin—a classic Phase 2 trigger .
Ethereum ETFs have seen significant inflows, signaling growing institutional interest and easing volatility barriers .
ETH outperformance, combined with rising altcoin market cap and falling Bitcoin dominance, further reinforces Phase 2 dynamics .
Verdict: We are firmly in Phase 2: Ethereum outperformance. Momentum is building and pointing toward broader altcoin participation.
Phase 3: Large Caps (Emerging)
Several indicators suggest Phase 3 may already be starting: altcoin market cap has surged by over 50% since July, and analysts are projecting a potential full-scale altseason by September .
Macro tailwinds are also in place—regulatory clarity, anticipated Fed rate cuts, institutional allocation—setting the stage for deeper capital rotation .
Verdict: Signs are strong that Phase 3: Large-cap rotation is underway, even if not in full swing yet.
Phase 4: Altseason (Not Yet Arrived)
Altcoin Season Indexes (CoinMarketCap, Coinbase) remain below the 75% threshold, currently sitting around the low to mid-40s .
Bitcoin dominance, though falling (~59%), hasn’t declined enough to confirm mass retail engagement or mania .
Analysts expect altseason to peak in Q4 2025 or early 2026, not yet fully here .
Verdict: Phase 4 has not arrived yet, though momentum is building toward it.
🔴 Where Are We Now?
PhaseStatus in 2025
Phase 1: BitcoinComplete — BTC has led with historic highs and institutional flows.
Phase 2: EthereumActive — ETH outperformance enabled by ETF inflows and institutional demand.
Phase 3: Large CapsEmerging — capital is rotating into Layer-1s and large altcoins.
Phase 4: AltseasonApproaching — not here yet, but signs point to a peak later this year.
■Big picture:
We are transitioning from Phase 2 into Phase 3. Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin, and large-cap altcoins are starting to reap the benefits. Market conditions—macro gains, ETF inflows, regulatory support—are aligning. All eyes are now on whether Phase 4: Altseason will kick off by late 2025 or spill into early 2026.