Altcoin holders spent most of 2025 wondering if the cycle had quietly died while Bitcoin soaked up nearly all new liquidity. Now three chart watchers say the rotation is only delayed, arguing that easing quantitative tightening and a fresh drop in Bitcoin dominance could reopen the door for an altseason as soon as December. Analyst Links Altcoin Slump to Liquidity Squeeze, Not Failed Cycle Altcoin traders are asking if the market’s high-beta tokens are finished after the brutal drawdown that followed 2021. Yet, according to analyst account CryptosRus, the missing “altseason” looks delayed rather than cancelled, mainly because global liquidity has not supported a full rotation away from Bitcoin. In a post on X, CryptosRus said many traders expected a repeat of the explosive rallies seen in 2017 and 2021. Instead, Bitcoin dominance stayed elevated while most smaller coins lagged or slid to new lows. The analyst argued that this pattern reflects macro conditions rather than a structural collapse in altcoins themselves. Altseason Rotation Setup. Source: Merlijnthetrader Quantitative tightening across major central banks and a pullback in balance-sheet liquidity have limited the flow of capital into riskier corners of the crypto market, the post said. With less excess money in the system, investors focused on Bitcoin and a few large names instead of rotating into small-cap tokens. As a result, the altseason many expected “never fully ignited,” even as Bitcoin set fresh highs. Now, the liquidity backdrop may shift again. The analyst noted that quantitative tightening could end as early as next month, while markets also price in another interest-rate cut in December. If central banks stop draining liquidity and begin easing, crypto funds and speculative traders could gain more room to move down the risk curve. In prior cycles, that kind of shift has preceded rapid rotations from Bitcoin into altcoins. During this phase, retail investors often capitulate and sell at depressed levels. At the same time, large holders can use thin liquidity to accumulate positions quietly, the post suggested. A chart from trader MerlijnTheTrader, shared alongside the commentary, compares previous peaks in Bitcoin dominance and lows in the ETH/BTC pair to earlier altseasons and highlights a similar setup forming today. Macro Pressure Defers Alt Rotation, Chart Highlights Cycle Comparison Meanwhile , Pepe Whale’s post on X claims the 2025 altcycle mirrors past Bitcoin dominance corrections that came before broad altcoin rallies. The image compares 2017 and 2021 “final shakeout” phases, showing sharp declines in dominance toward rising diagonal supports, followed by fast rebounds. Then, trends continued along long-term diagonal baselines marked with upward arrows. Bitcoin–Altcoins Altseason Path. Source: 0xChiefy The lower left label ETH/BTC signals Ethereum’s relative performance versus Bitcoin is a rotation gauge in the cycle comparison. Meanwhile, the 2025 projection box sits near a similar diagonal support slope, marked by a “final shakeout” tag, suggesting analysts see a comparable dominance structure forming. Pepe Whale adds that Bitcoin momentum is a key catalyst for any alt rotation. At the same time, the post argues select low-cap tokens and memecoins could outperform if rotation follows historical patterns. The commentary highlights Pepe as a potential leader in the memecoin segment, tying the 2025 narrative to liquidity timing and dominance behavior. Analyst Says Bitcoin Dominance Pullback Could Open December Altcoin Window Bitcoin’s share of the crypto market has started to slip after a months-long climb, and one analyst argues that shift could set the stage for an altcoin rebound in December. In a post on X, trader Alex Clay said “altseason is not cancelled, it’s just delayed,” pointing to the latest downturn in Bitcoin dominance as a potential trigger for rotation into smaller tokens. Bitcoin Dominance Altseason Signal. Source: Alex Clay During most of 2025, Bitcoin dominance trended higher as capital favored the largest asset over riskier coins. However, that advance faded in November, with dominance easing back toward the high-50 percent band. Clay links that pullback to a pattern seen in previous cycles, where Bitcoin first captured liquidity and then ceded ground as investors moved down the risk curve. Now, Clay argues that if the current decline in dominance continues into December, altcoins could gain market share again. He frames the coming month as a test of whether macro conditions and risk appetite are strong enough to support a broad move away from Bitcoin and toward high-beta names, including lower-cap tokens.
