The altcoin market is evolving, but not in the way many expected. While some believe the altseason has begun, others argue it’s merely delayed.

With shifting market structures, ETF-driven Bitcoin strength, and changing investor behavior, what’s really happening with altcoins?

“Selective” Altseason

Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, has signaled the start of a selective altcoin season. In a recent tweet, Ju pointed out that while Bitcoin (BTC) is not experiencing a direct rotation into altcoins, stablecoin holders are increasingly favoring alternative assets.

Alt season has begun.

No direct BTC-to-alt rotation, but stablecoin holders are favoring alts. Alt volume is 2.7x BTC. BTC Dominance no longer defines alt season—trading volume does.

It’s a very selective alt season tho. DYOR. pic.twitter.com/7lSffDuuM8

— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) February 21, 2025

This trend is evident in trading volumes, as altcoins are currently seeing 2.7 times the volume of Bitcoin. He also noted that BTC’s dominance – historically a key indicator of altseason – no longer holds the same influence. This is because trading activity now serves as a more relevant metric, the exec said.

Additionally, Ju emphasized that Bitcoin is no longer acting as a primary quote currency for altcoin trades. This marks a significant structural change in market behavior, and the latest selective altseason suggests that while some altcoins may see strong inflows, the rally is not uniform across the board.

Altseason Delayed?

Crypto analyst “Xremlin,” however, offered a different perspective on the timing of the next altcoin season. The trader suggests that while an altcoin rally is likely in 2025, it may not follow the traditional February start seen in previous cycles. Instead, historical data points to two potential peaks: one in May-June 2025 and another in August-September 2025. Xremlin attributed the delayed altseason to key structural changes in the market.

Unlike previous cycles, where Bitcoin whales took profits and funneled them into altcoins, much of BTC’s current strength is ETF-driven, meaning those funds are effectively locked and unable to rotate into alts. Additionally, the massive number of tokens has exploded – multiple times more than in 2021 – spreading out demand and preventing a concentrated alt rally.

Another major shift has been the rise and decline of meme coin speculation, which altered retail investor behavior. While the 2021 altseason was driven by long-term bets on technology and innovation, Xremlin believes that today’s market is more short-term and casino-like and favors quick flips over sustained holding.

However, the analyst remains optimistic and cited a highly favorable macro environment, such as easing crypto regulations, pro-crypto policies, rising global liquidity, and potential ETF approvals for major altcoins like Solana and XRP.

He went on to predict that while not all altcoins will benefit equally, sectors like Real World Assets (RWA) and AI-related projects could see significant gains.

This week, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Solana in greater detail.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum continues to consolidate and closed the week with a 2% price increase. This brings it just under the $2,870 resistance which has not been seriously challenged yet, but could soon be put under pressure.

Momentum is slowly building up for ETH which is flashing a clear bullish trend both on the daily MACD and RSI. The only missing ingredient is volume which continues to lag behind and is rather low since early February.

Looking ahead, Ethereum may attempt a breakout above $2,870, which could allow it to quickly reach $3,000 next. This would increase market optimism and bring buyers back to start a new rally.

Ripple (XRP)

XRP had a good week after increasing by 5%. However, this was not enough to see the price test the resistance at $3, which continues to hold back any attempts by buyers to take this cryptocurrency higher.

While this recent advance is a positive sign for bulls, the momentum and volume still lack sufficient strength to generate a breakthrough at this time. For this reason, the price may continue to consolidate here.

Looking ahead, XRP needs a clear break above $3 if it hopes to return on a sustained rally. Anything less may be interpreted as bearish since buyers may lose interest in the lack of volatility.

Cardano (ADA)

ADA is found at the same price of $0.8 as last week, with no significant movement. The current resistance is between $0.84 and $0.9, and buyers seem unable to push the price above it.

Sellers always returned as soon as Cardano tried to approach the key resistance. This has forced the price to move sideways under this level, but this flat price action is unlikely to last.

Looking ahead, this cryptocurrency is at a critical level. To turn the chart bullish, buyers will have to push the price above $0.9 soon. Otherwise, sellers have a clear opening to take back control and take ADA back to $0.65, which acts as support.

Binance Coin is found in a pullback after buyers tried to break the $700 resistance but failed. This is why the asset fell by 2% since last week. In part, this price action is normal after that sustained rally in early February.

However, buyers will have to gather their strength and make sure they defend the key support at $600 because losing that level would turn BNB bearish. So far, the price has managed to stay around $650, which is encouraging.

Looking ahead, once this pullback is over, BNB could attempt another attempt at the key resistance. For that to happen, this cryptocurrency has to maintain a price above $600.

Solana (SOL)

Solana had a difficult week after its price made a lower low and fell by 11%. This goes against the current trend across the market, where most altcoins are flat or consolidating. The price also tested the key support at $164, which held well to date.

The biggest concern for SOL holders is the fact that the price made a lower low. This is a clear signal of weakness and could see the support at $164 be put under pressure again if buyers don’t return in numbers soon.

Looking ahead, Solana is found in a difficult spot with sellers having the upper hand right now. If nothing changes, we could see lower price levels in the future with $134 as the next major support level.

Litecoin (LTC), ranked #15 on the list of largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, has been flexing its muscles lately, growing its value by 46% in slightly over two weeks.

The asset, often overshadowed by flashier rivals such as Bitcoin (BTC), is riding a wave of investor optimism, registering $9.6 billion in daily on-chain transaction volumes per data from Santiment.

Litecoin Gains Momentum Amid ETF Speculation

While Bitcoin and Ethereum often dominate crypto headlines, LTC has been quietly building momentum. According to Santiment, between February 2 and February 19, its market cap went up by 46%, fueled by increased network utility and institutional interest.

⚡️ Litecoin doesn’t typically get the social media hype of other top cap cryptocurrencies like XRP, Solana, Chainlink or Cardano. But on the back of some legitimate ETF rumors, it has quietly seen a big jump in value recently. From February 2 to February 19, 2025, Litecoin’s… pic.twitter.com/FSRpoKt2zd

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 20, 2025

The buzz isn’t just speculation. Recently, Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas suggested there was a 90% chance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Litecoin. The odds of this product hitting the market are much higher than those of larger capped cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), and Solana (SOL).

Canary Capital has filed to list a Litecoin ETF, with the SEC acknowledging the filing and initiating its review process. If approved, it would allow mainstream investors to gain exposure to LTC without managing private keys or holding the asset directly.

In Santiment’s view, an LTC ETF would not only open the floodgates for institutional investment but also make it more likely for the other altcoins to be tied to similar financial products.

On-Chain Activity and Market Impact

Beyond the ETF noises, Litecoin’s $9.6 billion worth of on-chain trading activity over the past week is remarkable. The same metric had a value of $2.8 billion just six months ago, meaning its current state is a 242% improvement from that period.

Meanwhile, market watchers have predicted LTC’s next price target at $140, with a potential rally toward $170 if momentum continues. At the time of writing, the coin was changing hands at just above $133, a 3.4% improvement on its level 24 hours ago. Across 12 months, the cryptocurrency’s price is up more than 94%, pushing its market value past the $10 billion mark.

Although that barely compares to Bitcoin’s nearly $2 trillion market cap, the OG crypto’s recent dip to a two-week low of $93,500 saw it outperformed by Litecoin, which also did significantly better than the broader crypto market, which is up a mere 0.60%.