Bitcoin surpassed the $100,000 mark last week, undoubtedly a historic milestone. However, even as the leading cryptocurrency celebrates its achievements, many altcoins have begun to outperform Bitcoin, heralding the arrival of altcoin season.

Since the start of the year, 20 of the top 50 cryptoassets by market capitalization have outpaced Bitcoin’s impressive 124% gain. Rising altcoin market caps, increased media attention, and climbing altcoin quarterly indexes further confirm this trend. Additionally, a recent report from CCData showed that trading volume reached a yearly high in November, with open interest also hitting a record. These are signs that the market's risk appetite is rising. And this change is generally more favorable for altcoins because they have higher potential profit margins.

Looking deeper, investing in altcoins is actually investing in Web3 and other blockchain-related industries. The industry relies heavily on regulatory clarity, and markets have become more optimistic about this following the U.S. election. Additionally, altcoin trading volumes are not driven by BTC trading pairs, according to the latest data from CryptoQuant. This means the market is experiencing real growth and not just a rotation of assets from Bitcoin to altcoins. It could also mean that instead of waiting for Bitcoin prices to consolidate this time around, altcoin season could see both crypto-assets rising at the same time.

The altcoin rally since November seems to be pointing to an even bigger altcoin season in 2025. Emerging crypto trends and technologies may attract the attention of institutional investors and venture capital investors. Below are speculations on the potential and key narratives of the next altcoin season based on on-chain data and other trends.

1. Altcoin season is not just about price

Altcoin season is usually defined as the stage when altcoins continue to outperform Bitcoin. This phase tends to occur in the last year of Bitcoin’s four-year cycle, when market enthusiasm spreads from Bitcoin to other currencies, with large-cap altcoins re-approaching or exceeding their all-time highs, while new narratives drive small and mid-capitalization Market cap coins break through unknown highs. Ultimately, this phase will culminate in widespread FOMO (fear of missing out) sentiment, pushing the entire crypto market into overheating. This overheating often signals an impending market correction and, ultimately, a bear market cycle.

However, altcoin season is not just about price, it represents a comprehensive evolution of market activity, adoption and innovation. Every round of altcoin season so farAll reflect unique technological changes and market trends.

2017’s first altcoin season was marked by the ICO craze and the rise of NFTs (remember CryptoKitties?). The second altcoin season in 2021 combines the rise of DeFi with the full-blown NFT and gaming craze. To support these developments, cheaper and more scalable Layer2 solutions have emerged. All of these innovations withstood the crypto winter and continue to thrive today.

Looking ahead, the third altcoin season in 2025 promises to bring new narratives and technologies, some of which are already in development and others that have yet to emerge .

2. Indicators of the altcoin season

Many indicators indicate that the altcoin season is coming. Bitcoin dominance declined, altcoins outperformed Bitcoin, and their market capitalization hit new highs. However, the Altcoin Season Index and other related indicators suggest that the peak for altcoins may not be yet to come.

In absolute terms, the total altcoin market capitalization, calculated by subtracting the Bitcoin market capitalization from the total crypto market capitalization, has reached an all-time high. The current market capitalization is $1.89 trillion, surpassing the peak of $1.79 trillion set in November 2021, according to Coingecko data. In relative terms, Bitcoin dominance has fallen from 60% to 51% since November.

However, both indicators include stablecoins and wrapped assets. While they are crucial to market liquidity, they may not truly reflect the development of the altcoin market. Additionally, during bull market conditions, this category of assets tends to favor altcoins due to their higher risk-reward characteristics.

To provide a purer measure of the market, Blockchain Center’s Altcoin Season Index excludes stablecoins and wrapper assets. The index defines an altcoin season as a period in which more than 75% of the top 50 altcoins outperformed Bitcoin over the past 90 days. Most recently, the index crossed the 75% threshold on December 2 and held there for a week. In the last altcoin season, the index remained above the threshold for nearly three months. This supports the idea that the peak of altcoin season may occur in 2025.

The OTHERS index, calculated by platforms like TradingView, is another important indicator of altcoin performance. The index tracks the total crypto market capitalization excluding the top ten coins, including the two largest stablecoins. While the index is up 123% over the past 30 days (and subsequently corrected), it has yet to reach its previous all-time high. Last time, it was up 525% from its all-time high in 2017, suggesting there's still considerable room for growth.

Finally, Google Trends also reflects interest in altcoins. Taking the peak in May 2021 (index of 100), current search interest has risen to 87, the highest level since then.

3. The key narrative of altcoins in 2025

As of 2024, three of the top 50 altcoins currently performing are Memecoin: Dogwifhat (WIF + 2,027%), PEPE (+1,764%) and Dogecoin (DOGE +382%). While Memecoins tend to be emblematic of the altcoin season, they are unlikely to define the dominant narrative of the crypto market in 2025.

According to data from Blockchain Center, BRC-20Token performs best among new technologies emerging in 2023-2024. Although some do not consider them true altcoins, these tokens issued based on the Bitcoin blockchain have increased by more than 1,000% during the year, thanks to technologies such as Ordinals or Runes. Within the more traditional altcoin category, RWAs (tokenization of real-world assets), which include tokenized versions of real-world assets and their supporting protocols, lead the way with an annual growth rate of 717%. This is followed by artificial intelligence-related tokens (+513%) and DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure, +303%).

By 2025, a new narrative is likely to emerge, and venture capital trends may reveal the most promising directions. Venture capital investment in the crypto space was relatively modest in 2023 ($10 billion), accumulating $7.1 billion in the third quarter of 2024, according to Pitchbook. brightIn 2021, activity is likely to return to 2021 and 2022 levels of $25.3 billion and $29.4 billion, respectively. This increase in funding will flow to specific projects and more broadly, fueling the next wave of growth.

Finally, please note that in the craze of altcoin season, it is important to avoid being swayed by market hype. Every bull market will eventually end in an adjustment (turning into a bear), and only those tokens with strong fundamentals and practical application scenarios can survive in the next cycle.