Altseason is a legacy of the past, says the executive of the trading company
Traditional altcoin cycles that include broad market rallies called “altseasons” are now a thing of the past as new crypto market dynamics are fueled, said Andrey Grachev, managing partner of DWF Labs, a crypto market maker and investment firm.
Grachev told Cointelegraph that too many tokens competing for limited capital and mindshare, a small number of market participants, and crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are causing disruption by altering market dynamics.
He said the institutional focus on large digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and tokenized real-world values (RWAs) is driving capital and attention away from altcoins.
“The long tail of tokens will still exist, but they will mostly operate as high-risk ventures or casino-style games. The capital will not expand fast enough to support them all,” Grachev said. He added:
“This means shorter narrative windows, more aggressive spin-offs, and less room for weaker projects to survive en masse. The market is moving away from broad altcoin rallies and toward selective activity in specific sectors.”
Matt Hogan, the chief investment officer of the investment company Bitwise, also said that the traditional altcoin cycles are over, and institutional investors are focused on digital instruments or income-bearing crypto assets.
RELATED: Bitcoin leads, altcoin indicators fall to shocking lows: time for an altseason?
Since the market crash of October 2025, the altcoin market has made a huge victory
According to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, 38% of altcoins are close to all-time lows, which is worse than the post-FTX market crash.
“Liquidity is increasing with the increasing number of projects and tokens entering the market,” said Cointelegraph.
More than $209 billion has been withdrawn from the altcoin market in the last 13 months. In October 2025, the altcoin market capitalization peaked at $1.19 trillion, before the market crash dragged it down to about $719 billion.
Meanwhile, inflows into Bitcoin ETFs remain strong, with five days of positive inflows, according to data from fund manager Farside Investors, while altcoin ETFs continue to experience outflows.
Magazine: Altcoin season 2025 is almost here… but the rules have changed
