Hundreds of billions have returned to the cryptocurrency market, and Bitcoin's explosive surge to nearly $80,000 was impossible to miss. At the time of publication, the leading crypto asset—Bitcoin ($BTC)—is consolidating around $77,400 per coin but remains 38.5% below its all-time high ($ATH) of $126,080 recorded on October 6, 2025.
Ethereum (ETH) is fluctuating around $2,452 per unit, and although it has recently outperformed $BTC, it still needs to rise by 50.4% to reclaim its all-time high ($ATH) of $4,946. Altcoins have shown even sharper fluctuations compared to $BTC, driving the 'altcoin season' index to 43 from a low of 25 recorded in May, according to statistics from blockchaincenter.net. This hasn't stopped speculators from declaring that the 'altcoin season' has already arrived.
Altcoins Are Soaring, But Previous Highs Remain Far Behind
The rules are simple: if 75% of the top 50 coins outperform Bitcoin over a 90-day period, the market officially enters an 'altcoin season.' $PUMP and $ENA have been the leaders of this season over the past three months, surging 192% and 69% respectively. This week alone, $PUMP skyrocketed 99% and $ENA by 98.57%, yet both coins remain significantly below their all-time highs.
$PUMP still needs to climb 39.7% to regain its peak, while $ENA faces an even steeper climb of 89.2%. Stacks ($STX) also soared 94.55% this week, and Official Trump ($TRUMP) jumped 91.55%. However, the decline from previous highs is still impressive: $STX is still trading 94% below its peak, and $TRUMP is 96.4% below its all-time high.
One cryptocurrency clearly standing out from the crowd is Zcash ($ZEC), which rose 75.15% this week and, at the time of writing, trades at $851, putting $ZEC at a new all-time high today. Aave (AAVE) surged 65.48% over the past seven days but still needs to rise another 78.5% to reclaim its all-time high recorded over five years ago on May 18, 2021. The meme token Pepe Coin (PEPE) jumped 59.61% this week but remains 85.4% below its all-time high.
However, not everyone joined the rally: over the past week, jelly (JELLY) fell 5.48%, and just (JST) dropped 4.24%. Centrifuge (CFG) plunged 3.93%, and quibic (QUIBIC) lost 3.36%. Less than a dozen coins showed declines this week, while the rest of the market either consolidated or showed significant gains over the seven-day period.
But although altcoins have shown more significant growth, most of them remain far below their previous peak values. Zcash and a few other coins defy this trend, but the fact that Bitcoin is close to its record high shows how much further many altcoins still have to go in their recovery.
Traders Declare 'Altseason,' Euphoria Reigns on Social Media
On social media, particularly on X, some traders are convinced that altcoins are on the verge of a full-scale takeoff. "This is f***ing altseason," wrote The Crypto Dog on X. "Everyone said there would never be an altseason again — well, WRONG, it's already here, look around — this is f***ing altseason." Three days ago, another social media user insisted on this, accompanying his call with rocket emojis:
"ALTSEASON 3.0 IS COMING."
Google Search Queries Send a Completely Different Signal About Altcoins
User interest in search queries tells a very different story. According to Google Trends data, over the past 12 months, the global search index for the term "altcoin" is only 26 out of 100. At the same time, Google notes that interest in this term is still 80% higher than the previous year. The last time the search query "altcoins" in Google Trends approached its peak value of 100 was in September 2025, just before Bitcoin reached its all-time high.
The gap between social media euphoria and moderate interest from retail investors in searching indicates that any impending 'altcoin season' still stands on shaky ground. Setting aside speculation, the market situation tells a much simpler story: altcoin surges have been and remain selective rallies, while the widespread mania defining a true 'Altseason 3.0' has yet to materialize.
Featured image: Google Trends
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