Altseason is near, but is the crypto market ready for another 2021-like surge?

As the crypto market shows visible signs of recovery from its bearish slump, CryptoQuant’s on-chain and technical analyst, Darkfost, has shed light on the altcoin market.

The analyst highlighted how the altcoin market has suddenly shown several signs of shifts from a prolonged bearish phase into an early bullish phase.

Could mid and small-cap altcoins could drive the altseason?

According to the analyst, between 19th and 22nd August, the total market cap of altcoins excluding Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum, aka Total2, increased by about $215 billion. This marked a 24% hike in just three days, taking the market cap back above the $1 trillion-level.

Remarking on the same the analyst said,

Mid and small caps in particular rose the fastest

The on-chain metric 200-day moving average (DMA) further confirmed this sentiment, with the altcoins outpacing the indicator. Here, it’s worth pointing out that back in November, roughly 80%–85% of Binance-listed altcoins were trading below their 200-DMA.

At the time of writing though, around 56% of those altcoins were trading above their 200-DMA. This implied that more than half are now once again showing bullish long-term price structures.

Such a major shift pushed DarkFost to ask a very genuine question…

Did Trump just kick off altseason?

The answer to this is simple because the reversal came after several statements from Donald Trump on 19th August. This included his support for the U.S purchasing substantial amounts of Bitcoin and his call for Congress to pass the CLARITY Act. These statements were accompanied by his claim that his administration had effectively ended the U.S government’s previous “war on crypto.”

Echoing a very similar sentiment, another crypto analyst shed light on the 14-day average correlation between Bitcoin and altcoins. The same has now surged to 0.87, its highest level since June 2026.

Wall Street too joined the momentum as U.S-listed crypto ETFs tracking altcoins attracted nearly $90 million in net inflows in the week ending on 21st August. This influx was led by XRP with $39.78 million, followed by Solana with $28.34 million, Chainlink with $13.35 million, and Hyperliquid with $3.89 million.

Bitcoin Dominance paints an interesting picture

At the same time, there is more nuance to the story, with another analyst claiming,

BTC dominance (BTC.D) having its next leg up as I have been saying for weeks

In this phase, many altcoins could lag Bitcoin even if they are still rising in price. The analyst sees this relative weakness as an opportunity. This, because once Bitcoin dominance eventually reaches a peak and starts falling, capital could rotate more aggressively into altcoins, potentially causing them to outperform Bitcoin sharply.

However, not everything is rosy yet. In fact, Coinglass’s Altcoin Season Index had a reading of just 46.

AMBCrypto had previously reported that the altcoin season may be around the corner, even though the market did not support it at the time.

In fact, back in May, many analysts and traders in the crypto space had predicted that 2026 will see the biggest altcoin season since 2021. So far though, that’s not how this year has panned out.

Final Summary

• Various analysts are pointing towards an upcoming altcoin season, but concern remains.
• Wall Street’s $90 million support for altcoins raises hope.