Crypto Metric Signals Altcoin Season as Bitcoin Dominance Stalls

Bitcoin's recent surge to $86,000 has significantly boosted altcoin markets, pushing the total cryptocurrency market capitalization above $3 trillion. This market activity has triggered an “altcoin season” signal from Glassnode's proprietary Altcoin Cycle Signal.

The Altcoin Cycle Signal, which tracks the market capitalization of the 250 largest cryptocurrencies (excluding stablecoins) relative to Bitcoin, registered a value of 81.25 on its 0-100 scale. This indicates a period where altcoins are outperforming Bitcoin in terms of combined market-cap growth.

Glassnode noted that while an earlier rally in August saw altcoins remain relatively stable, the current rally has broadly stimulated the altcoin market. The combined altcoin market cap reached $1.19 trillion on Tuesday, its highest point since late January, representing a 33% increase since August 19.

Bitcoin‘s dominance, its share of the total crypto market cap, has remained within a narrow range, currently at 59.7% compared to 59.2% on August 19. It has not surpassed 60% in the past month. A market observer suggested that Bitcoin investors might be experiencing complacency, noting that Bitcoin's dominance reached a macro high of 66% in June 2025 and has since shown limited progress against altcoins.

Cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have also experienced a significant rebound in investor interest. On Monday, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded combined inflows of $999 million, while Ether (ETH) ETFs saw $270 million in inflows.

These figures represent the highest daily inflows for both types of ETFs since October 2025. Bitcoin ETF investors' aggregate cost basis was just under $86,000 at the end of last week, with Bitcoin now attempting to establish this level as support. The confluence of these factors suggests a robust period for the broader altcoin market, potentially extending the current altcoin season.