😨💫💥 Altseason That Never Came

We all waited for it after Bitcoin had risen to $100,000 and beyond. Influencers were calling for “the biggest altseason ever," and everyone was front-running the rotation.

And then… nothing. Bitcoin ran, but altcoins lagged. Bitcoin dropped back to $60,000, but altcoins did not bounce. No altseason. Just vibes and disappointment.

The Setup Looked Perfect

Historically, the playbook was simple. Bitcoin pumps hard. Then Bitcoin chills. Money rotatesfrom $BTC into alts.

Everything with a ticker does a 5x.

2017 did it, and 2021 did it, too. So naturally, people positioned themselves early. Loaded mid-caps. Accumulated small caps. Even the usual “this Layer 1 will flip $ETH” narratives came back.

But this time, the rotation never really hit. There was no broad melt-up.

No full degen season, and also no random microcap doing a 40x just because it existed. It felt like we were waiting for a bus that never arrived.

Bitcoin Became the Gravity

Here is the uncomfortable part. When institutions came in, they did not buy your favorite AI token. They mainly bought $BTC.

When ETFs accumulated, they did not rotate into gaming coins. They accumulated $BTC. Bitcoin is not just the gateway asset anymore. It is the gravity.

And when Bitcoin sucks liquidity in, altcoins do not explode; they suffocate.

That is exactly what happened when $BTC went to $100K. Altcoin pairs bled. $BTC dominance climbed. And everyone who was “overweight alts for the coming season” just watched.

And Then Bitcoin Dropped… and Still Nothing

Now here’s the really painful part. Bitcoin corrected back to $60K.

In previous cycles, that’s where alts would catch a bid. This time? Still weak. No massive bounce. No full market relief rally. Just selective pumps and a lot of slow bleeding.

That is when it hit me: Maybe there was no altseason because there isn’t one anymore.

The Dilution Problem Nobody Likes to Talk About

There are simply too many tokens, especially meme coins.

Every week: New chain. New narrative. New airdrop of random tokens. New unlock schedule.

VCs need exits. Founders need liquidity. Communities need hype.

But liquidity is not infinite because capital is fragmented across dozens of ecosystems.

In 2021, you had fewer narratives and more concentrated liquidity, while in 2026, you have an infinite supply and selective demand. That is what changes everything.

The Current State of Altcoins

So where are we now? Most alts are down heavily against $BTC, down massively from ATH, and only selectively recovering in $USD terms.

There are still winners. Always. But it is not broad. It is not “throw a dart at CoinGecko and win.”

It is hyper-selective, and it has fast rotations, either strong ecosystems only or pure meme timing. The middle layer is dying.

The comfortable “hold a bag and wait for altseason” strategy no longer works.

Maybe This Is Selection Season

Maybe we need to stop asking: “When altseason?” And start asking: “Which 5% of altcoins actually deserve liquidity?” Because the market feels different now: More mature, more brutal, and less forgiving.

You can still make serious money in alts, but you cannot be lazy. The spray-and-pray died, and the selection season started.

The altseason that never came is not just a disappointment. It is a message.

The market is evolving. Bitcoin has become the base layer of trust, and atcoins have become tactical plays, not default bets.

That does not mean that I am abandoning alts. It means that I am adapting. I rotate, I scale out, and I don’t marry my bags. And I definitely do not wait for a magical “everything pumps” season anymore.

If altseason comes, great. If not, I am positioned either way.
$BTC ‌