“Altseason” may still be a moving target, but the rotation traders are watching is getting harder to dismiss. Over the last 30 days, a wide mix of tokens across memecoins, DeFi, privacy, AI and infrastructure has posted outsized gains, according to CoinMarketCap data.
CoinMarketCap shows memecoin launchpad token PONS up more than 350%, while Uniswap’s UNI has gained over 110%, Arbitrum’s ARB is up more than 150%, and NEAR—described as AI-focused in the dataset—has risen around 180%. Privacy token Zcash also hit a new record above $1,600 last week, while additional gainers include LIT (Bitcoin Layer-2) and PUMP (memecoin launchpad), CoinMarketCap’s altcoin-season index and broader charts indicate.
Key takeaways
- CoinMarketCap’s “altcoin season” gauge has not yet crossed the official threshold, but the 30-day performance looks more like a broad rotation than a single-theme spike.
- Commentators highlighted a potential shift toward “revenue” and utility narratives, even as memecoins remain part of the rally.
- Talos data suggests capital is concentrating in fewer assets rather than rotating evenly across the long tail.
- Dealer participation in altcoin trading has fallen since late 2024, implying market makers may be playing a smaller role than in prior rallies.
- Access and tooling for retail and professionals appear to have improved, which may help explain why buying has stayed persistent despite less dealer-driven liquidity.
Is this altseason—or just selective rotation?
The market’s behavior is not lining up neatly with an “official” altcoin season call. CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index, according to the publication, currently sits at 64 out of 100, up from 48 the previous week. Still, it remains below the 75 level that signals a new official season.
That gap matters for investors because “altseason” signals are often used as shorthand for risk appetite across the broader market. If the index hasn’t confirmed a full regime shift, traders may be more likely to hunt specific narratives rather than rotate broadly into everything outside large caps.
The performance profile supports that interpretation. While tokens across very different sectors have surged—Zcash’s privacy angle alongside DeFi and AI-adjacent names—the underlying driver may be more about selective participation than a wholesale change in strategy.
What traders appear to be buying right now
Even among the largest weekly gainers, the composition looks mixed. The dataset cited indicates that, among the top 20 biggest gainers last week, only two memecoins appeared, and in the prior week only Pudgy Penguins made the list.
That backdrop is part of why several market observers argue the current move is reflecting “breadth before depth.” Sergej Kunz, co-founder of 1inch, pointed to how memecoins have shown the strongest growth among buyers over the last 30 days, while other categories—DeFi protocols, privacy tokens, AI projects and tokenized assets—are also attracting attention. However, his emphasis was on how investors are spreading exposure: more wallets buying a wider range of tokens, generally in smaller amounts, rather than going all-in on a single bet.
Talos data aligns with that framing while also sharpening the picture. Sam ar Sen, head of international markets at Talos, says the data points to capital clustering around a smaller number of assets rather than distributing broadly across the “long tail.” He also notes September flow data shows a “notably strong buying tilt,” with buying dominating on almost every day—contrasting with late 2024, when buyers and sellers were reportedly more evenly matched and the post-election rally reportedly produced broader outperformance across tokens including DOGE, ADA and HBAR.
Relevance, revenue, and the battle between narratives
Rather than treating the rally as one simple rotation into whichever coins are trending, the discussion is increasingly about what these tokens share. David Hoffman, host of the Bankless podcast, suggested that prominent gainers such as ARB, UNI, JUP and ONDO have something in common: they “make money” and “print revenue,” implying a utility-driven impulse rather than pure speculation.
That said, multiple observers also emphasized that fundamentals are not the only force at work. Kunz’s remarks again point to memecoins as a major growth driver among buyers, while Talos’ Sen describes the market as becoming more selective—concentrating around specific narratives and ecosystems instead of treating altcoins as one broad trade.
The result is an uneasy middle ground: investors may not be purely abandoning speculation, but they may be demanding clearer reasons to participate. The broader market takeaway is that “altseason” in this cycle could be less about one dominant theme and more about overlapping sub-stories—revenue-generating protocols, onchain derivatives, privacy, AI adjacency, tokenized assets, and even the growing overlap between categories on mainstream platforms.
The source highlights how tokenized stocks have started trading against memecoins via unconventional pairings on Robinhood, illustrating how retail access can compress boundaries between narratives. One referenced pairing reportedly generated more than $425 million in 24-hour trading volume in early September, underscoring how fast liquidity can form around new combinations.
Who is funding the move: dealers, retail access, and professional tools
One of the most actionable parts of the report is what it implies about market structure. Talos data cited by Sen shows dealer participation in altcoin trading has fallen from roughly 65% at the end of 2024 to about 32% in September, even while flows maintained a strong buying trend.
Sen described this as a meaningful difference from the last altcoin rally, suggesting liquidity providers and market makers have played a smaller role in the current move. At the same time, he argues access has improved—exposure that once required direct interaction with decentralized venues (such as Raydium or Orca, as mentioned in the article) is now available through mainstream platforms. That, in his view, lowers barriers to entry and broadens retail participation.
On the professional side, Sen also notes that traders have more tools for tracking activity—using wallet tracking and copy trading approaches to identify where capital is building across wallets, protocols and chains. In combination, the report frames the current rally as powered by wider retail access paired with more sophisticated professional monitoring.
A possible “fundamental” edge—if integration accelerates
Some of the most optimistic commentary comes from Michael Egorov, founder of Curve Finance and Yield Basis. He said he’s seeing more interest in protocols with tangible use cases and institutional demand than in prior cycles, with particular attention to infrastructure that can connect crypto to real financial activity.
Stablecoins were highlighted as one example, especially their use in onchain foreign exchange and fintech applications. Egorov argued that a key driver could be growing integration between crypto infrastructure and the real economy—something that, if it continues, could give this cycle’s altcoin momentum an additional source of buying beyond trading itself.
But he also acknowledged the uncertainty: this would require demand to keep building, not just speculative attention.
For readers, the near-term question isn’t simply whether “altseason” arrives on paper, but whether the market continues to concentrate around specific narratives or starts rotating more broadly. Watch CoinMarketCap’s index for movement toward the official threshold, and monitor Talos’ flow and participation metrics—especially whether dealer involvement rises again as token liquidity deepens.
Be the first to comment