Has An Alt Season Begun? Here’s What The Altcoin Season Index Says

bitcoinistPublished on 2026-06-03Last updated on 2026-06-03

Abstract

The recent rally in some altcoins and Ethereum's recovery have sparked speculation about the start of an altcoin season. However, data from the Altcoin Season Index suggests otherwise. Currently scoring only 36 out of 100, the index indicates the market is not in an alt season, which typically requires a score above 75. This score reflects that less than 75% of the top 100 altcoins have outperformed Bitcoin over the past 90 days. Furthermore, Bitcoin's market dominance has risen to around 59.88%, contradicting the decline expected during an alt season. The analysis concludes that current altcoin gains are likely isolated rallies, not a broad market shift. For a true alt season to begin, Ethereum would need to consistently outperform Bitcoin, and altcoin dominance would have to rise significantly.

Recently, there have been rallies across some altcoins, with Ethereum seeing some recovery as well, pushing the idea of an alt season. With the likes of Hyperliquid pumping to new all-time highs, this has propelled some of the top 100 altcoins by market cap to surpass Bitcoin’s performance during this time. As more altcoins continue to outperform, does this mean that another alt season has begun? This report takes a look at what the data says.

Altcoin Season Index Sitting At A Score Of 36

The Altcoin Season Index has historically been the index that tells when the crypto market has entered an alt season. According to the index, it measures the performance of the top 100 altcoins against that of Bitcoin over a 90-day period and then plots this across a score of 1-100 to show when the market has entered into an alt season.

Historically, the higher the score goes, the more the likelihood that the crypto market is experiencing an alt season. Usually, this means that the Bitcoin outperformance has stalled, and its dominance over the rest of the crypto market has dropped drastically.

Presently, the Altcoin Season Index is reading at a score of 36, according to data from the Coinglass website. Also, the Bitcoin dominance began to recover again during the weekend, rising above 59.88% by the time Sunday rolls around. Naturally, neither of these bodes well for an alt season.

Dissecting The Data For An Alt Season

With the Altcoin Season Index sitting this low at 36, it means that the market is not actually experiencing an alt season. Usually, an alt season would begin with the score sitting above 75. This would mean that 75% of the top 100 altcoins are performing better than Bitcoin in a 3-month timeframe to make this happen.

Additionally, the Bitcoin dominance over the crypto market has continued to rise instead of dropping. This is a sign that the market is actually not moving into an altcoin season. This would only happen when the Bitcoin dominance begins to crash, and the altcoin dominance starts to rise.

Given the data, it suggests that the rallies of some altcoins are only spot rallies. Ethereum is also underperforming compared to Bitcoin during this time, and being the historical leader of the altcoin season, Ethereum would have to begin outperforming Bitcoin to trigger the next alt season.

Altcoin market cap falters | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap Excluding BTC on TradingView.com

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