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Against the backdrop of a general rise in the crypto market, experts have once again begun discussing the arrival of the altcoin season (altseason) — a trend where major cryptocurrencies outperform Bitcoin in growth. This coincides with Bitcoin's surge above $81K, predictions of a new bull trend starting in the crypto market, and a capital flow towards Bitcoin and gold from the artificial intelligence sector.
Starting from August 17, the crypto market has grown by more than 22%, with the majority of the growth driven by the surge in prices of Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH). Both coins have risen by 25% and 30% respectively, reaching their highest prices since May of this year.
"Bitcoin's bear cycle has ended" and the market is awaiting "the most powerful" growth in Bitcoin's history — this is how many analysts and experts characterize the current market situation. Observers also note a resurgence in demand for cryptocurrencies from institutional investors — interest has returned to virtually all US-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) covering all cryptocurrencies.
Although just two weeks ago, key crypto market players claimed it was "the toughest bear market" in history, and crypto exchanges and traders were switching to trading stocks instead of cryptocurrencies. Everything changed in a few days.
In an interview on the Altcoin Daily podcast, BitMEX exchange founder Arthur Hayes stated that he considers the current situation the beginning of a new bull market, noting that Bitcoin will "very quickly reach hundreds of thousands and even $500k," and that now is a suitable time to hold the asset.
Commenting on Hayes's interview, BitcoinTreasuries analytical platform head Pete Rizzo interpreted his forecasts as expectations of "parabolic growth." This is an established term in the crypto market describing a strong asset rally, with an almost vertical surge in price on the chart.
Revival of the Bull Market
Bitcoin funds have returned to the top 10 most traded ETFs, displacing some AI sector company ETFs that dominated the list all summer, noted Bloomberg ETF market analyst Eric Balchunas. And at the asset management company Bitwise, they stated that their Solana (SOL) based exchange-traded funds achieved record trading volumes. Trading for ETFs on the largest cryptocurrency in the anonymity sector — Zcash (ZEC) — also commenced on August 25th.
Cryptoquant experts noted that liquidity is actively flowing from Bitcoin into riskier cryptoassets. As stated in the Cryptoquant analytical note: "After a long period of low volatility and weak volumes, it was altcoins that attracted investor attention." Although recently, Cryptoquant had noted that the altcoin market for the most part is "junk" and will experience one of the most difficult periods in its history.
Other experts express similar optimistic views. Michael van de Poppe, head of the consulting firm MN Consultancy and a well-known analyst in the crypto market, expects that "altcoins will perform significantly better in this cycle compared to the previous one."
Cryptoquant added that their indicators for determining a bull market are showing 8 out of 10 positive signals. This is the most optimistic reading since October 2025, when Bitcoin was trading above $120k.
Has Altseason Arrived?
Despite the positive statements, the objective picture looks like a rebound from this year's lows. Even Bitcoin's 20% weekly gain and a price of $80k per coin represent a drop of almost 40% from the October peak and 10% since the beginning of the year.
And the altseason index continues to indicate that a full-fledged cryptocurrency rally has not yet arrived. As of August 26, the Altcoin Season Index is at 39, although at the beginning of August it was at 67.
Furthermore, the Bitcoin dominance metric, as an indicator of interest in cryptocurrencies other than $BTC, continues to hover around 60%. This also indicates that investors are still concentrating in Bitcoin, not in altcoins.
Many experts, when speaking about the crypto market, forecast growth for individual coins and sectors. In their opinion, the crypto market is entering a new stage where the value of many digital assets will increasingly be determined not by expectations, but by the actual revenue of the projects. Notably, at the end of July, it was reported that 80% of all protocol revenues are concentrated in just three separate projects.
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