Bloomberg: A Rocky Start for the Crypto Market’s “Altcoin Season”

According to a report by Jinse Finance, citing Bloomberg, for most seasoned crypto traders, “altcoin season” is almost a routine cycle. First, Bitcoin rises, sparking a new wave of attention toward digital assets. Capital flows into this dominant cryptocurrency, while interest in “altcoins” gradually wanes. Traders then start seeking higher returns elsewhere, giving rise to new narratives and stories. Subsequently, funds rotate into underperforming coins, generating excess returns—this is why speculators coined the term “altcoin season” during the 2017-2018 bull market. On July 14, driven by the enthusiasm of “Crypto Week,” Bitcoin hit a new all-time high before entering a narrow trading range. Influential figures and investors in the digital asset space have called Ethereum’s breakout and the long-dormant NFT sector’s rebound a turning point. However, this cycle has been more sporadic rather than a full-blown altcoin boom. XRP, for example, surged over 60% since early July, only to fall 11% on Wednesday. Many of the most popular altcoins belong to a category known as “low circulating supply, high fully diluted valuation (FDV)” tokens. These tokens often have a multi-billion-dollar FDV, but a closer look at their token distribution reveals that only a small portion is freely tradable. This often makes such tokens more susceptible to market manipulation. These factors typically come into play in the later stages of a typical altcoin season—when speculation peaks, market fatigue intensifies, and prices often reverse. Although most crypto traders can now easily recognize this pattern, hope still persists.