Bitcoin is showing signs of slowing momentum. BTC trading volume fell by 28% this week, even as the price climbed modestly to around $117,582. Is capital quietly rotating into altcoins?
Despite the drop in trading activity, Bitcoin’s market cap ticked slightly higher to $2.34 trillion. Still, BTC has cooled off since reaching its all-time high of $124,000 last week. Historically, August has been a weaker month for Bitcoin, and analysts caution that the price could revisit the $116,000 support zone if the slowdown continues.
One of the biggest signals comes from Bitcoin’s share of the overall crypto market. BTC dominance has slipped from 65% in May to under 59% today, a drop of more than 6%.
This suggests traders are diversifying into altcoins. Ethereum, Solana, and several AI and DeFi tokens have seen significant gains in both price and market cap over the past month. In fact, altcoins collectively added more than 50% to their market value, reaching about $1.4 trillion.
The shift hasn’t gone unnoticed by Wall Street. Coinbase Institutional noted this week that markets are on the verge of a full altcoin season. Ethereum’s trading volume, for instance, jumped 300% over the past month. With Bitcoin stabilizing, more investors appear willing to take on risk further down the market cap ladder.
The next few weeks could set the tone for the rest of 2025.
