Signals are multiplying in the crypto ecosystem. After months of overwhelming Bitcoin dominance, altcoins are showing signs of awakening. Sygnum, the Swiss digital bank, anticipates a major rotation of capital. Could this long-awaited altseason finally be starting?
Sygnum, the Swiss bank specializing in digital assets, foresees a strategic turning point in the crypto markets.
In its latest quarterly report, the institution highlights clear signs of a shift in favor of altcoins, after a turbulent period marked by geopolitical tensions and budgetary instability in the United States. These uncertainties triggered, early in the year, a wave of selling on altcoins. But recently, the tide is turning. Are we on the dawn of an altseason?
Bitcoin dominance, which had reached an unprecedented peak since 2021 amidst this macroeconomic pressure, is beginning to weaken. It has recently dropped by more than 6%, reflecting a gradual redeployment of capital toward alternative cryptos.
“As regulatory clarity extends to altcoins, capital could shift toward projects with concrete economic uses and sustainable token models”, analyzes Sygnum.
This trend is accompanied by an increasingly clear regulatory environment. The U.S. SEC notably clarified a major point: Ethereum staking does not fall under securities law. A tacit green light for institutional investors.
Following this improvement, DeFi is booming. DEXs have captured 30% of the market’s spot volumes, driven by a wave of memecoins that have boosted trading to 530 billion dollars.
However, this dynamic does not seem to concern all altcoins. Some purely speculative assets are showing marked fatigue, out of sync with the more structural trend mentioned by Sygnum.
” Speculative altcoins are retreating while Bitcoin remains stable”, explains Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget.
We observe that tokens such as Fartcoin (FART) and Pump.fun (PUMP) are less aligned with the market beta overall and reflect more high-volatility microcycles, driven by sentiment. These assets are mainly fueled by retail enthusiasm and community dynamics, rather than institutional flows or macroeconomic narratives.
Paradoxically, this shift towards altcoins is accompanied by continuous strengthening of the two main cryptos.
Bitcoin continues its ascent, supported by a liquidity dynamic considered “extremely bullish” by Sygnum.
A persistent imbalance between supply and demand continues to push prices upward. On July 14th, the queen of cryptos even hit a new all-time high, surpassing 123,000 dollars.
Bitcoin Spot ETFs perfectly illustrate this institutional appetite. These funds have now exceeded 160 billion dollars in assets under management, absorbing alone more than 110,000 BTC during the last quarter. A major extraction from circulating supply, which fuels buying pressure on the markets.
Ethereum, for its part, is experiencing a spectacular revival of institutional interest. ETH balances on exchanges are dropping, while inflows to ETFs are intensifying. Nearly 30% of the liquid supply is now locked via staking.
The recent “Pectra” upgrade raised staking limits and brought several technical improvements, thus consolidating the network’s robustness.
Institutional adoption is also accelerating among major Wall Street players. Sharplink plans to allocate one billion dollars in ETH.
Meanwhile, BNY Mellon, Société Générale, and a stablecoin initiative supported by Donald Trump choose Ethereum as their issuance platform. Sygnum thus estimates that Ethereum has “definitely broken its long-term downtrend”.
In short, between clarified regulation, traction on Ethereum, and the rise of stablecoins, the Altseason could indeed be imminent.
