Glassnode's Altcoin Cycle Signal has flipped to an "altcoin season" reading this week as altcoins outpace Bitcoin for the first time since an August rally that mostly bypassed them. Bitcoin dominance remains stuck below 60% even as BTC pushes past $87,000 and ETF inflows rebound across both assets.
Glassnode's Altcoin Cycle Signal printed a fresh "altcoin season" reading this week, with the seven-day rolling gauge reaching 81.25 out of a maximum 100. The metric compares the market cap of the 250 largest cryptocurrencies relative to Bitcoin, excluding stablecoins, and flags altcoin outperformance when it swings high.
According to Glassnode: "The first rally in August saw altcoins stay relatively flat while BTC moved." The firm added that this week's rally had spread across the full breadth of the altcoin market.
Bitcoin dominance stays capped below 60%
Bitcoin dominance has stayed rangebound over the past month, sitting at 59.7% versus 59.2% on Aug. 19 and failing to reclaim 60%. Trader Matthew Hyland described a mood of complacency among Bitcoin holders, arguing dominance had already set a macro high at 66% in June 2025. He said investors have stayed unwilling to accept Bitcoin's lack of progress against altcoins since then.
The combined altcoin market cap reached $1.19 trillion on Tuesday, its highest level since late January. Altcoins have grown 33% since Aug. 19, when the US Treasury announced interventions in bond markets. Bitcoin itself climbed to $86,000 this week. The industry's total market cap reclaimed $3 trillion.
ETF inflows rebound across Bitcoin and Ether
Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $999 million on Monday. Ether ETFs added $270 million. Both tallies marked the highest daily inflows since October 2025. Bitcoin ETF investors' aggregate cost basis sat just below $86,000 at the end of last week, with BTC/USD now attempting to hold that level as support.
Momentum extends past $87,000, but a pullback risk lingers
Bitcoin breached $87,000 on Monday, its first move above that level since the end of January. It was trading above $85,000, up 5% in 24 hours and more than 10% for the week. Ether also gained, climbing 10% over the week to trade past $2,700.
The rally has pushed Bitcoin above both the True Market Mean and short-term holder cost basis, levels that have historically marked a sustained uptrend when price holds above them. Yet not every signal points higher: analyst Darkfost said an Elliott wave count nearing its fifth-wave target, alongside RSI divergence from price, could foreshadow a pullback toward $74,500 before Bitcoin moves higher again.
Sources: Cointelegraph.com News, CryptoPotato
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