4 years of Bitcoin winning – Here’s why 2021 was the last alt season!
The post 4 years of Bitcoin winning – Here’s why 2021 was the last alt season! appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
The 2025 cycle has introduced some notable market divergences. Historically, Bitcoin [BTC] has seen strong rallies after each halving, with the first four post-halving cycles driven by supply scarcity and demand imbalance. However, 2025 broke that trend, with BTC closing the year down 6%. A similar divergence is showing up in altcoins. TOTAL3 (market cap ex- BTC and ETH) has printed its fourth straight red year versus Bitcoin, effectively capping an “altcoin season” that’s been fading for four years. Source: TradingView (TOTAL3/BTC) That divergence naturally points towards BTC’s growing market influence. Technically, this isn’t a stretch. Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) has put in four consecutive uptrends, climbing from roughly 40% in 2022 to above 60% in 2025. That’s a solid 100% gain in market cap, roughly $900 billion added. Notably, over the same period, total market cap grew to $1.11 trillion, meaning nearly 80% of that new capital landed in BTC, highlighting its growing influence. In this context, is an altseason really a thing of the past? The 2021 rally in retrospect – Key altcoin market signals Looking back, the 2021 cycle was a textbook altcoin season. On the 12-month chart, BTC’s market cap closed the year up 64%, breaking through the historic $1 trillion-milestone. And yet, TOTAL3 (market cap ex-BTC and ETH) completely outpaced it, rallying a staggering 541%. The result? The Altcoin Season Index peaked, signaling a full-blown altseason, with capital clearly rotating into the broader alt market. Since then, however, BTC has taken control. The question is – What really changed? Source: TradingView (TOTAL3) The answer is simple – Altcoin funding rates have spiked. Simply out, leveraged longs are overcrowded, and while that might sound bullish, it’s actually trapped altcoins in a volatile loop. Even a small sideways move can trigger a cascade of liquidations. Add rising BTC.D,…
Filed under: News - @ January 3, 2026 3:02 am