According to Grayscale, some market sectors benefited from significant changes to US policy in the third quarter, but Bitcoin underperformed compared to Ether and others.
Asset management company Grayscale has suggested that the third quarter of 2025 may have represented an altcoin season “distinct from those in the past,” based in part on the underperformance of Bitcoin and a boost from centralized exchanges.
According to a Grayscale report released on Thursday, though returns across crypto-related markets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), AI, and smart contracts, were positive in Q3, the quarter may have stood out as an “alt season.” The asset manager said the smart contracts sector benefited from stablecoin legislation — likely referring to the GENIUS Act signed into law in the US in July — while AI, currencies and BTC lagged behind.
“Bitcoin underperformed other market segments, and the pattern of returns could be considered a crypto ‘alt season’ — although distinct from other periods of falling Bitcoin dominance in the past,” said the Grayscale report.
Among other themes in the report were a surge in the number of crypto treasuries holding a variety of tokens on their balance sheets, greater adoption of stablecoins in the US and rising volume in centralized exchanges.
Grayscale speculated that other US policies, including a digital asset market structure bill pending in Congress, could help drive crypto markets in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Though the price of BTC increased significantly in Q3, reaching an all-time high of more than $120,000 in August, its performance was still lagging when compared to other assets. Research suggested that Bitcoin and altcoins were falling behind gold and stocks in reaching new all-time high prices, in part due to stablecoins leaving exchanges.
Optimism for crypto exchange-traded funds
As one of the largest asset managers offering cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Grayscale has been a first mover in digital asset investment vehicles.
The company reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently approving new listing standards for crypto ETFs could also help drive markets in Q4. The US regulator has already signed off on one of its multi-asset crypto exchange-traded products offering exposure to BTC, ETH, XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA).
