Bitcoin's Grip on Crypto Market Slips: When Will Altcoins Surge?

Hold onto your hats, crypto fans! Bitcoin's iron grip over the market is showing signs of loosening, and analysts can't agree on when the next altcoin season will hit the scene.

Brace yourselves: CoinGecko's data reveals the altcoin market cap has plummeted a gut-wrenching 42% from its mind-blowing peak of over $1.89 trillion back in early December last year. Remember that wild rally? It was all thanks to the buzz around Donald Trump's U.S. presidential win, sparking hopes for a friendlier regulatory playground for crypto.

But guess what? Even with those changes now in place, altcoins haven't bounced back. Ethereum (ETH), the king of altcoins, is still down a hefty 17.3% over the last month. And it's not alone—big names like XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA) have taken hits too, dropping between 14% and a whopping 30%.

Altseason hinges on Bitcoin dominance

The bearish vibe's still hanging heavy over the altcoin markets, and the crypto community's eyes are peeled for the next altcoin season. They're ready to jump in at the first sign of a surge!

Here's the deal: for altcoins to start rallying, Bitcoin's dominance has got to drop. That's the word from several market experts who are preaching it to their followers.

The pseudonymous trader Daan Crypto Trades spilled the beans, saying altcoin dominance is struggling to pick up steam because of Bitcoin's relentless strength and the ever-growing stablecoin market.

"For altcoins to take back the throne against BTC, stables, and the big dogs, you've gotta see ETH/BTC kick into gear first," Daan declared.

He broke it down: without Ethereum leading the charge, a full-blown altcoin breakout is a no-go, since most coins are built on Ethereum and tons of liquidity pools are ETH-denominated. A strong ETH performance, he added, sets off the kind of wealth effect needed for the rest of the altcoin market to rally.

Daan hammered home that while short-lived altcoin rallies can pop up, a sustained trend usually needs high-timeframe confirmation, often after a retest post-initial breakout. His advice? Stay patient or strategically dollar-cost average into projects with solid fundamentals.

Georgii Verbitskii, the brain behind TYMIO, echoed the sentiment in a chat, saying altcoins are in a "waiting game" right now.

He laid it out: "A true altseason, in the classic sense where Bitcoin chills and altcoins rally on their own, won't happen until Bitcoin smashes its previous all-time high."

Until then, he thinks investors will keep seeing altcoins as the wilder side of crypto, which is why big money's likely to stay on the sidelines for now.

Real Vision's chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts is feeling the same vibe, predicting "one last rally" this cycle, maybe by June, but only altcoins with real utility and active networks will reap the rewards.

"Activity drives prices," Coutts declared, noting that only "quality altcoins" will see any meaningful comebacks.

Meanwhile, technical analyst Rekt Capital's betting that altseason is inevitable but won't kick off until Bitcoin's dominance starts to dip, likely from around the 71% mark, according to a chart he shared. At the time of writing, Bitcoin's dominance was holding steady at 62.1%.

"Will there ever be another #Altseason ?"

Yes, the next time #BTC Dominance collapses

Which is likely going to start from ~71% (red)$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin

Analyst signals altseason, but key indicators disagree

Market commentator Sensei's hinting that Bitcoin dominance may have already hit its peak, pointing to a rising wedge pattern on the BTC Dominance chart, a formation that's got analysts buzzing about a potential reversal. Check it out below.

Despite some analysts' optimism, altcoin season isn't here yet, at least not according to some of the crypto industry's go-to indicators.

Take Capriole's Altcoin Speculation Index, which tracks investor appetite for those high-risk altcoins—it's plummeted to just 12%, down over 50% since December. And CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index, which compares altcoin performance to Bitcoin over 90 days, is chilling at a measly 14 out of 100, screaming that we're still firmly in "Bitcoin Season."