The first quarter of 2025 was dominated by altcoin season talks, as was the case when the bull cycle ended. In past cycles, capital tends to spin from Bitcoin to other cryptocurrencies as investors seek the greatest profit before the bear market arrives.
But so far this year, the story has been very different in the cryptocurrency market, with most large assets not enjoying the same capital rotation seen in past cycles. The latest on-chain data shows that Bitcoin continues to dominate the crypto market, surpassing Altcoins in all categories.
Is it time to buy Altcoins?
In a post on the X platform on April 5th, pseudonym analyst DarkFost shared interesting on-chain insights into the performance of all Altcoin categories compared to the world’s largest cryptocurrencies. According to online experts, altcoins perform less than Bitcoin in terms of market capitalization growth.
In their post, DarkFost compared market cap growth for Bitcoin, large Altcoins (the top 20 largest Altcoins), and small cap Altcoins by calculating the difference between the 365-day and 30-day moving averages (MAS). According to analysts, 365-day MA and 30-day MA fluctuations serve as indicators of growth momentum.
Typically, a short-term moving average (30-day MA) rises faster than the long-term moving average (365-day MA) means rapid market capitalization growth. On the other side, slowing down the 30-day moving average reduces growth momentum.
Source: @Darkfost_Coc on XAs observed in the chart above, Bitcoin outperforms altcoins with large caps and french frenches in terms of market capitalization growth. DarkFost said this difference in growth rate reached the level last seen in October 2023. This is the period that correlated with the short Altcoin Rally and subsequent BTC domination.
Analysts further emphasized that negative growth often indicates a strong correction. Historically, negative ratios can present potential buying opportunities for investors looking to enter the market.
A quick look at bitcoin and ethereum prices
At the time of writing, BTC priced at around $83,500, not reflecting any significant movements over the past 24 hours. At the same time, the ETH token is valued at around $1,805 and has not changed on past days.
The highest cryptocurrency fell by around 15% in the first quarter of 2025, but Ethereum lost almost twice as much value in the same period. This performance gap highlights how miserable the King of Altcoin has become over the past few months.
The price of BTC on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView
ISTOCK featured images, TradingView chart
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