The altcoin season index is a metric in the crypto industry used to measure the performance of altcoins.
It helps investors to determine the broader crypto market phases while understanding whether altcoins outperform Bitcoin during a specific period of time, offering valuable insights into market trends and investment opportunities.
This in-depth guide explains in detail what the altcoin season is, addressing its purpose in the crypto ecosystem, the platforms that hold it, its scoring system, important trends, risks, and limitations, how to read it, and other information to help you learn and evolve in the crypto industry.
What is Altcoin Season
Altcoins are digital assets other than Bitcoin, including Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Litecoin (LTC), and others.
But what is the altcoin season? The altcoin season, also known as altseason, represents a period of time during which altcoins perform great and record price surges that may surpass Bitcoin’s price increase, being able to attract attention and capital from potential investors in the crypto industry.
During such times, altcoins record massive price rallies, and the market’s focus is accompanied by surging trading volume for altcoins and a decline in the overall Bitcoin dominance.
Altcoin seasons usually hint at the following:
- A bullish market sentiment
- Rallies triggered by innovation
- Growing crypto adoption with new inflows of traders
- A new wave of optimism flooding the crypto market and taking it to new peaks
Historical Altcoin Season Examples
Notable examples of altcoin seasons include the following:
The 2017-2018 Altcoin Season
During this bull market period, many altcoins experienced massive price increases, triggering an inflow of investor interest and capital; this altseason took place during the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) boom, when projects promised innovative use cases with the potential to overcome Bitcoin’s digital gold narrative.
The euphoria in the crypto markets peaked in late 2017, being driven by speculation, and it declined in 2018 as regulatory crackdowns and projects that failed led to a deflation of the altcoin bubble.
The 2020-2021 Altcoin Season
This was another notable altseason called the DeFi Summer, during which altcoins related to DeFi, metaverse, and NFTs reached highs without precedent.
Back then, projects like Uniswap (UNI), Sandbox (SAND), and Solana (SOL) experienced notable surges, triggering investor interest and fresh capital inflows. UNI reached its ATH above $40 in May 2021, SAND hit a new ATH close to $7 in November of the same year, while SOL also reached over $236 in November, but it surpassed that ATH in November 2024, when it hit prices above $256.
In 2022, market optimism washed away amidst surging interest rates, bearish economic trends, and, eventually, the collapse of FTX crypto exchange – all these led to a decline in interest from investors and a drop in the overall trust in the industry.
What Is The Altcoin Season Index
Now that we’ve clearly explained what the altcoin season is, we move further and detail what the altcoin season index is.
Key Purposes
The altcoin season index is a metric that measures the performance of altcoins in the crypto market. The main purposes of the altcoin season index include the following:
- Investors can better understand whether altcoins outperform Bitcoin during a specific period.
- Investors get useful insights into market trends and various investment opportunities.
The most well-known platforms hosting the altcoin season index include Bitget and Blockchain Center.
Scoring System
It’s also important to note that the altcoin season index has a scoring system on a 0 to 100 scale. The altcoin season index is usually calculated over the past 90 days, highlighting which altcoins outperformed Bitcoin.
How the Altcoin Season Index is Calculated
Here are the thresholds for the altcoin season index and key factors:
Thresholds
Here are the altcoin season index thresholds:
- When the altcoin season index is above 75, this means that we’re in an altcoin season.
- When the altcoin season index is below 25, this means that we’re in a Bitcoin season.
- When the altcoin season index is between 25 and 75, this means that we’re in a neutral phase.
Key Factors
The altcoin season index is usually based on the following key factors:
- Relative Performance to Bitcoin: Comparing the altcoins’ performance to BTC – if most altcoins outperform BTC, an altcoin season could be underway.
- Market Capitalization Ratio: When BTC’s dominance decreases, this usually means funds are flowing into altcoins, signaling a potential upcoming altcoin season.
- Trading Volume/Price Volatilty: Altcoins’ trading volume and price fluctuations are other essential metrics that suggest a potential upcoming altcoins season; if altcoins’ trading volume and prices surge while BTC remains relatively stable, it could signal that a new altcoin season is on its way.
- Social Media/Community Sentiment: Social media discussions, news coverage, and the overall community sentiment can also serve as further indicators, as increased interest in altcoins could signal an upcoming altcoin season, boosting prices and trading volume.
Altcoin Season Index Chart: How to Read It
Reading the altcoin season index chart is not difficult, even for beginners.
Let’s take Bitget’s altcoin season index chart for example. The Bitcoin season is depicted in the left section of the chart, in green, and the altcoin season is placed in the right part of the chart with an orange-red color.
Currently, the chart shows 28 – a number closer to the Bitcoin season rather than the altcoin season, which clearly means that we’re currently in the Bitcoin season and further from an altcoin season.
Bitget also provides previous dates and altcoin season indexes for both the altcoin season and the Bitcoin season in its altcoin season index chart, showing the index on a daily basis.
Bitget also provides historical values for the past day, 7 days, and 30 days, along with yearly highs and lows, updating the data almost in real-time.
Current Trends and Altcoin Season Index 2025
Data from Bitget’s altcoin season shows the altcoin season index current value is at 28, meaning that the answer to the question “Is it altcoin season?” is no, the crypto market is not in an altcoin season.
The number 28 means that in the past 90 days, only 28 of the top 100 altcoins by market cap have outperformed Bitcoin.
We’re in a Bitcoin season at the beginning of June 2025.
Bitcoin recently hit a new ATH above $111,700 on May 22.
Following Bitcoin’s recent ATH, the digital asset’s price has consolidated above the important psychological level of $100,000. This happened regardless of the overall market volatilty, geopolitical tensions, and other global factors that used to affect the digital asset’s price.
Bitcoin Price Consolidation Factors
Bitcoin’s price consolidation is mostly due to the following factors:
- Continued global adoption
- Rising institutional and retail interest in BTC
- Worldwide regulations in the crypto market
- Boosted trust for newcomers in the crypto space
- Honest and incorruptible builders continuing their work in a regulated ecosystem
- Bitcoin’s globally recognized status (even by the IMF in March 2025)
- Wordlwide bipartisan political support
- The ongoing optimism and faith in the future of the crypto industry
- Respecting the core principles of Bitcoin laid out by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto
These are just some of the factors that are keeping Bitcoin’s price high and continue to fuel optimism in the crypto industry, regardless of the world’s direction and crises. Bitcoin remains a pillar of trust for the crypto ecosystem after it reached its latest ATH in May 2025.
» SECURE YOUR FUTURE, INVEST IN BITCOIN «
When Is the Altcoin Season Likely to Start?
We’re currently in a Bitcoin season. The altcoin season will start when Bitcoin’s dominance drops, ETH surges, and interest in altcoins will be on the rise.
Here are the historical triggers of the altcoin season:
- Bitcoin price stabilization
- Bitcoin dominance drop
- Rising Bitcoin/Ethereum ratio
The current market signals that a potential altcoin season is on its way are the following:
- Bitcoin price is stabilizing above the important $100,000 level.
- ETH is up by approximately 47% in May 2025.
- BTC dominance declines after peaking on June 2, 2025.
» GET READY – BUY ALTCOINS ON BINANCE «
How to Use the Altcoin Season Index Strategically
Here’s how you can use the altcoin season index strategically to boost your crypto gains:
- Identifying Market Trends – Periodically tracking the altcoin season index, you can better identify whether the crypto market is in a Bitcoin phase or in an altcoin season; if the index shows that there’s a strong altcoin performance, you might consider moving some funds from Bitcoin to altcoins.
- Diversifying Your Portfolio – An altcoin season represents a great opportunity for portfolio diversification apart from Bitcoin; by investing in altcoins, you can boost your returns when BTC underperforms.
- Risk Management – While altcoins can bring you financial gains, they are more volatile compared to Bitcoin, and you must exercise caution when deciding to invest in them during an altcoin season.
- Use of Technical Indicators and Sentiment Tools – To better manage your investment-related risks, you should use reliable technical indicators and sentiment tools before deciding to invest in altcoins.
Risks and Limitations of the Altcoin Season Index
As mentioned above, the altcoin season index has its benefits, but it also features a few risks and limitations. Here are the key ones below:
- It’s a lagging indicator, based on the past 90 days.
- It does not account for sudden macroeconomic changes that trigger high volatilty.
- It should be used together with other analytical tools.
Pros and Cons of Altcoin Season Index
Here are the key pros and cons of the altcoin season index based on our in-depth review:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Helps Identify Market Phases – Clearly indicates whether the market is in a Bitcoin or altcoin phase. | Lagging Indicator – Based on performance from the past 90 days, which may not reflect current conditions. |
| Supports Strategic Investment Decisions – Assists investors in moving funds between Bitcoin and altcoins at optimal times. | Ignores Macroeconomic Shocks – Does not factor in sudden macro events that can heavily influence prices. |
| Useful for Portfolio Diversification – Encourages investment beyond Bitcoin, potentially increasing returns. | Limited to Price Performance – Focuses on price, not fundamentals or project utility. |
| Visual and Beginner-Friendly – Easy-to-read charts with clear thresholds (e.g., <25 = BTC season, >75 = altcoin season). | Requires Complementary Tools – Should not be used in isolation; needs to be paired with other indicators. |
| Real-Time Updates Available – Platforms like Bitget offer almost real-time data with historical trends. | Doesn’t Predict Future Trends – Cannot reliably forecast when an altcoin season will start. |
| Reflects Community Sentiment – Includes social signals, trading volume, and dominance metrics to gauge sentiment. | May Encourage Herd Mentality – Investors might act based on hype rather than sound analysis. |
| Helps Spot Market Opportunities – Useful in identifying periods of strong altcoin performance to maximize gains. | Altcoin Volatility Risk – Encourages altcoin exposure, which carries greater price swings and risks. |
| Educational Tool – Teaches market dynamics, asset rotation, and seasonal performance patterns in crypto. | Platform Dependent – Methodology and accuracy can vary across platforms (Bitget, Blockchain Center, etc.). |
Conclusion: What Is the Altcoin Season Index and Why It Matters
The altcoin season index is a specific scoring system from 0 to 100 based on the past 90 days that shows you whether we’re in an altcoin season or a Bitcoin season.
The index matters as it can help you make strategic investment moves when the time is right and diversify your portfolio. However, you should be cautious about the risks and limitations of the altcoin season index and use it together with analytical tools for the best investment decisions.
FAQ on What Is the Altcoin Season Index
How Is Altcoin Season Index Calculated?
The altcoin season index is calculated for the past 90 days, showing the number of altcoins from the top 100 altcoins by market cap that were able to surpass Bitcoin.
Is It Currently Altcoin Season?
At the beginning of June 2025, we’re currently in Bitcoin season, and not in the altcoin season.
When Does the Next Altcoin Season Usually Start?
The new altcoin season starts when Bitcoin’s dominance starts to decline, its price stabilizes, and the ETH/BTC ratio rises.
How Long Do Altcoin Seasons Last?
Altcoin seasons usually last until investor interest declines, the ETH/BTC ratio drops, Bitcoin’s dominance rises or records price volatilty, or until unpredicted events (known as black swans) suddenly appear in the world, triggering instability and leading to some of the factors mentioned above.
