Altcoin Season Is Here Says Expert, Bitcoin Dominance At…

The crypto market’s churning out mixed signals in 2025—$1.8 trillion in total value, yet Bitcoin’s dominance sits at 61%, dwarfing altcoins.

Ki Young Ju, CryptoQuant’s CEO, recently dropped a bold claim through his X (formerly Twitter) that “altcoin season has begun.”

Ju pointed to trading volume, not Bitcoin’s market share, as the new kingmaker. Data shows altcoin volume hit 2.7 times Bitcoin’s on centralized exchanges.

But the Altcoin Season Index, clocking in at 33, begs to differ. Ju posted his take on February 21, 2025, arguing that Bitcoin dominance—now at 61%—doesn’t call the shots anymore.

Instead, trading volume tells the story. Altcoin volume reached 2.7 times Bitcoin’s recently, per CryptoQuant charts shared by Ju.

“No direct BTC-to-alt rotation, but stablecoin holders are favoring alts,” Ju wrote.

He called it a “highly selective alt season.” Some coins backed him up—Story (IP) spiked 55% in 24 hours, Sonic (S) and Maker (MKR) climbed 18% with volume jumps, as of February 21.

This isn’t Ju’s first rodeo with this theory. On January 9, 2025, he said fresh capital rarely flows to altcoins.

He repeated it in November 2024—only tokens with strong utility or buzz will shine. His February 21 post doubles down: volume’s the metric, and it’s screaming altcoin action.

Altcoin Index Paints a Different Picture

Altcoin Season Index begs to differ. On February 21, 2025, it sat at 29—down from 61 on January 31.

A reading above 75 signals alt season; 29 means just a handful beat Bitcoin lately.

Bitcoin’s 61% dominance, tracked on February 21, still looms large. Altcoins aren’t crashing to new highs—most lag far behind BTC’s peaks.

Analyst Benjamin Cowen disagrees with Ju. On February 19, 2025, Cowen, founder of IntoTheCryptoVerse, stuck to his guns: Bitcoin dominance matters.

He posted on February 14 that alt season hinges on the ETH/BTC pair. It needs to bottom out and trend up—until then, alt season’s on hold.

Cowen added a twist: rising Bitcoin dominance (up to 61% now) isn’t bad for alts long-term. But as of February 21, ETH/BTC hasn’t budged enough to confirm Ju’s call.

What’s the Takeaway?

Ju’s got a point—volume’s surging for certain altcoins. His February 21 post ties it to stablecoin flows, not BTC dumps.

But 30-day or 90-day price trends? They’re not steady yet. Altcoins used to trail Bitcoin’s price swings during altcoin season, but that link has weakened over time.

Past trends reveal that when Bitcoin’s market share climbs between 58% and 71%, it reliably hits the top end of that range before dropping steeply.

The Index at 29 underlines that—alt season’s not official. Cowen’s ETH/BTC lens adds another hurdle. Is altcoin season here?

CryptoQuant’s CEO says yes, leaning on volume. The data, though, says it’s too early to call.