Alt season is dead. There’s still hope for another alt season, according to Wintermute. The ailing altcoin market could still break out of its funk and rally again, according to analysts at Wintermute. In a January 13 report, the crypto market maker laid out three conditions that could kickstart a boom in smaller crypto assets, which has become an expected part of crypto bull markets.
The biggest issue, according to Wintermute, is that new money coming into the crypto market is confined to custodial investment vehicles, such as exchange-traded funds and digital asset treasuries. This, Wintermute said, narrowed the market in 2025. The result is less liquidity rotating across different assets, shrinking the duration of altcoin rallies by 66% compared to previous years and capping the returns these assets can achieve. An altcoin recovery will require ETFs and DATs to widen their mandates — either by launching more altcoin ETFs or investing directly, Wintermute said.
Altcoins, a broad term for most crypto assets beyond Bitcoin and stablecoins, have underperformed traders’ expectations in recent years. The second thing that could cause altcoins to rally is another Bitcoin rally, according to Wintermute. Even with ETF and DAT-dominated crypto inflows, a new all-time high for the top crypto could still generate a wealth effect that spills over into the broader market. Analysts are hopeful for another Bitcoin rally following the passing of the Clarity Act, a bipartisan crypto market structure bill that will provide a comprehensive suite of regulations for the $3.1 trillion industry.
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