Bitcoin News Today: Crypto's Power Shift: Altcoins Challenge Bitcoin's Dominance as Altseason Looms

The cryptocurrency market is abuzz with speculation that a new altseason is emerging in 2025, as Bitcoin dominance wanes and altcoins like XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) show signs of outperforming the leading digital asset. Analysts are closely watching technical indicators, institutional flows, and on-chain activity to determine whether history will repeat itself, with altcoins staging a post-Bitcoin consolidation rally.

Bitcoin dominance, which measures BTC's share of the total crypto market capitalization, has declined to 57.8%, its lowest level since February 2025, according to CoinMarketCap. A key technical signal-a monthly MACD bearish crossover in Bitcoin dominance-has emerged, a pattern that historically precedes altcoin surges. The last time this occurred in 2021, large-cap alts like Ethereum and Solana surged 10x–50x over four months. This time, the Altcoin Season Index has climbed to 76, its highest since December 2024, indicating that 76 of the top 100 altcoins outperformed Bitcoin in the past 90 days.

XRP is one of the most watched altcoins, with technical indicators forming a descending triangle pattern on its price chart, suggesting a potential breakout above $3.05. Options positioning is heavily skewed bullish, with 78% of traded value in calls, while futures open interest has climbed to $8.36 billion, reflecting leveraged speculation on ETF approvals or regulatory clarity. Solana, meanwhile, has surged 28% in the past month, driven by strong fundamentals and anticipation of ETF filings from Grayscale and VanEck. Its price recently broke above $220, with some analysts targeting $250–$400 by year-end.

Cardano (ADA) presents a contrarian case. Despite a bearish retail sentiment ratio of 1.5:1 (bullish to bearish commentary), open interest in ADA options is overwhelmingly bullish, with 92% of option value in calls. Analysts note that ADA's 5% rebound from late-August lows coincided with whale accumulation, a pattern seen before past rallies.

Whale activity and institutional flows are accelerating capital rotation into altcoins. For instance, a $8 million USDC deposit to Hyperliquid's HYPE token pushed its price to a new all-time high of $57.34, while VanEck's rumored spot-staking ETF for Hyperliquid has added further momentum. Similarly, Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Coin (BNB) have seen robust buying, with ETH surging 10.5% in the past day as institutional investors like BitMine Immersion Technologies added 128,700 ETH ($480 million) post-crash.

Despite the bullish technical setup, macroeconomic risks linger. A potential U.S. government shutdown could delay crypto ETF approvals, which are seen as critical for sustaining altcoin momentum. Additionally, Bitcoin's recent consolidation near $115,500-down 8.8% from its July high-has raised concerns about whether BTC can hold its golden cross, a historically bullish pattern.

The confluence of weakening Bitcoin dominance, bullish altcoin indices, and whale-driven accumulation suggests an altseason is forming. However, sustained momentum will depend on macroeconomic stability, ETF approvals, and the ability of altcoins to maintain their technical strength. Traders are advised to monitor key levels: a breakdown below 50% Bitcoin dominance could accelerate the rally, while a rise above 63% may signal renewed BTC leadership.

For now, the market is pricing in a 95% probability of a successful altseason, with XRP, SOL, and ADA leading the charge. As one analyst put it: "History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes. If this cycle follows the script, alts could see a 2–4 week explosion of gains."

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[1] Altseason Insights: XRP, SOL, HYPE, DOGE & ADA (https://medium.com/@powertrade_options/altseason-insights-xrp-sol-hype-doge-ada-how-options-traders-are-positioning-5f2edc6c7256)

[2] Altseason 2025 Report: Amigoz's Top 20 High‑Potential Crypto (https://theamigoz.com/2025/07/22/altseason-2025/)

[4] Crypto Altcoin Season Index | CoinMarketCap (https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/altcoin-season-index/)

[6] BTC Dominance Monthly MACD Bearish Cross After 4 Years (https://blockchain.news/flashnews/btc-dominance-monthly-macd-bearish-cross-after-4-years-altseason-signal-with-10x-50x-history-says-altcoingordon)

[10] ETH, BNB, DOGE lead as crypto market cap rebounds to $4T (https://cointelegraph.com/news/eth-bnb-doge-surge-crypto-recovers-flash-crash)

[11] $4 Trillion Market Cap Reclaimed, Q4 Altcoin Rally Next? (https://coinedition.com/4-trillion-market-cap-reclaimed-q4-altcoin-rally-next)

[14] Altcoin Season Confirmed After Nearly a Year as ... (https://www.ccn.com/analysis/crypto/altcoin-season-confirmed-crypto-market-cap-smashes-4t/)