The total altcoin market cap currently stands at $1.16 trillion, reflecting a decline of 23.63% from this year’s peak. Meanwhile, the Altcoin Season Index sits at just 29, signaling that Bitcoin continues to dominate the market.

Yet, according to top crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe, altcoins may be on the verge of a major breakout.

Altcoin Market Overview

At the start of 2025, the altcoin market cap was around $1.34 trillion. It reached a peak of $1.51 trillion on January 17, before declining 42.12% by April 8. Despite recovering by 43.6% between April 9 and May 13, the market hasn’t fully bounced back.

Since May 8, the market has moved sideways, ranging between $1.01 trillion and $1.26 trillion, indicating consolidation and potential buildup for the next move.

What Does the Altcoin Season Index Say?

The Altcoin Season Index helps identify whether it’s currently Altcoin season or Bitcoin season. According to the index:

• Altcoin season = 75% of top 100 coins outperform Bitcoin in the last 90 days
  
• Bitcoin season = 25% or fewer coins outperform Bitcoin

Currently, only 29 coins out of the top 100 have outperformed Bitcoin over the last 30 days. That confirms we’re in a Bitcoin season, not altcoin season—yet.

Bitcoin has surged 36.65% in the last 30 days, dominating the market. Some top-performing altcoins in the same timeframe include:

• SYRUP: +451.69%
  
• PENGU: +268.71%
  
• HYPE: +233.70%
  
• VIRTUAL: +230.65%
  
• SPX: +193.91%
  
• WIF: +154.32%
  
• AAVE: +115.40%
  

Michael van de Poppe: Alt Season May Be Closer Than You Think

In a recent post on X, Michael van de Poppe pointed out that the Altcoin Season Index typically bottoms out in June, historically signaling the start of strong altcoin performance in the second half of the year

“We’re still in the middle of the crypto bull market, and with Quantitative Easing expected to ease, the macro environment looks favorable for altcoins to rally again,” Poppe explained.

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Can This Alt Season Outperform Q4 2023?

Poppe also compared the current setup with the Q4 2023 altcoin rally. Back then, the market cap rose from $120.7 billion to $213.43 billion, marking a 76.85% increase.

If history repeats, Poppe suggests we could witness another 76% or higher surge in the upcoming altcoin season.