The first few months of 2025 have been full of chatter about an upcoming “altcoin season” – a time when smaller cryptocurrencies usually shine as the crypto bull market nears its end. In the past, we’ve seen this happen in cycles. First, Bitcoin surges, then investors start moving their money into altcoins hoping for even bigger returns before the next crash hits.
But this year? That pattern hasn’t played out.
Bitcoin Is Still the Main Player
So far, Bitcoin has continued to lead the way, leaving most altcoins in the dust. While we’d usually expect some of the big-name altcoins to catch up or even outperform BTC during this phase, it just hasn’t happened in 2025. Instead, Bitcoin is growing faster in market value than nearly all other categories of cryptocurrencies.
What Does the Data Say?
On April 5, a popular crypto analyst who goes by the name Darkfost shared some revealing data on X (formerly Twitter). They looked at how fast different types of coins are growing by comparing two moving averages – a short-term 30-day average and a longer-term 365-day average. This method gives a sense of whether a coin’s market cap is gaining momentum or slowing down.
Here’s the idea in simple terms:
- If the 30-day average is growing faster than the 365-day average, it means that coin is gaining steam.
- If it’s the opposite, momentum is fading.
Right now, Bitcoin is way ahead in terms of momentum. It’s growing faster than both the top 20 altcoins (like Ethereum, Solana, Cardano) and smaller-cap tokens.
This kind of setup was last seen in October 2023, just before a short altcoin rally. After that, Bitcoin quickly took back control of the market. So this pattern seems to repeat: altcoins pop briefly, then Bitcoin takes over again.
Could This Be a Buying Opportunity?
Interestingly, the same analysis suggests that when the growth momentum of altcoins dips below zero, it often means the market has corrected strongly. In the past, these dips have sometimes turned out to be good buying opportunities. For example, during June 2022 and December 2018, similar drops led to major bounce-backs for some altcoins in the months that followed.
Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: A Quick Check-In
At the moment, Bitcoin is trading at around $83,500, while Ethereum is sitting at about $1,805. Both have stayed pretty flat over the last 24 hours.
However, if we zoom out, Bitcoin only dropped about 15% in Q1 of 2025, while Ethereum has dropped nearly twice as much. That’s a pretty big deal, especially since Ethereum is usually seen as the “king of altcoins.” Its poor performance shows just how slow the altcoin space has been lately.
The post Altcoin Season in 2025? Not Quite – Bitcoin Still Stealing the Show appeared first on The Cryptoplay : All updates about Cryptocurrency worldwide.
