"Altseason," a term familiar to many crypto traders, refers to periods when altcoins significantly outperform major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

In the ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrency, "altseason" represents a pivotal phenomenon where altcoins significantly outperform major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. This article delves into the historical patterns of altseason, exploring its implications for investors and the broader market dynamics. By analyzing previous cycles, we uncover the factors that typically trigger these explosive periods of growth, as well as the current market conditions that may signal the next altseason. Understanding these nuances is essential for both seasoned traders and newcomers seeking to navigate the complexities of crypto investing.

Understanding Altseason: What It Is and Why It Matters

"Altseason," a term familiar to many crypto traders, refers to periods when 

 significantly outperform major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Historically, these phases have been characterized by capital rotation from Bitcoin into smaller, riskier projects, often leading to explosive growth in altcoin prices. This phenomenon has been evident in the past three major bull runs, notably in 2017 and 2021, when altcoins surged in value after Bitcoin reached new all-time highs (ATHs).

Bitcoin’s price movements have been cyclical since its inception in 2009. By analyzing historical price data, we can identify distinct periods of boom, bust and recovery. Notably, the two most recent bull runs have witnessed pronounced altseason events, whereby altcoins recorded extraordinary gains, often multiplying their market caps significantly.

For instance, during previous altseasons, the total market capitalization of altcoins surged between 6x and 7x. This explosive growth not only provided immense profit opportunities for traders, but also underscored the 

 inherent in the cryptocurrency space. However, one must also recognize that altseason often precedes the end of a bull run, as profit taking from large-cap tokens leads to a market correction.

Despite the historical significance of altseason, the current cycle appears markedly different. Bitcoin has continued to reach new highs while maintaining a strong market dominance, contrary to the typical pattern in which 

 declines during altseason. This deviation raises critical questions about the nature of the current market, and whether a traditional altseason is imminent.

The Current Landscape: Indicators and Influences

Several factors contribute to the unique dynamics of the current crypto market. First, it’s informative to underscore the importance of Bitcoin’s halving events, which historically precede significant market capitalization and dominance shifts. In previous cycles, Bitcoin's dominance tended to decline approximately 230 days post-halving, leading to a capital rotation into altcoins. However, the recent halving in April 2024 didn’t trigger the expected decline in Bitcoin dominance, suggesting a potential structural change in market behavior.

Moreover, the performance of Ethereum (ETH) relative to Bitcoin has also shifted. Historically, Ethereum served as a primary beneficiary during altseason, often experiencing substantial gains as traders rotated out of Bitcoin. However, since 2022, Ethereum has underperformed not only Bitcoin but also several competing "Ethereum Killers," such as Solana (SOL) and Sui (SUI. This relative underperformance has raised doubts about Ethereum's capacity to lead the market into a new altseason.

 has further complicated the landscape. While the introduction of these ETFs has driven Bitcoin’s price to new heights, it’s also resulted in a capital flow that remains largely focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Many institutional investors appear hesitant to rotate their capital into smaller, more speculative altcoins, opting instead to remain in regulated ETF products.

Last but not least, there’s been a significant increase in 

 supply, which has risen by 66% since the start of 2024. This indicates that while institutional activity may explain some market movements, retail engagement remains robust. 

 (CEXs) recorded their largest trade volumes in Q4 2024, suggesting that retail traders are actively participating in the market, potentially looking for altcoin opportunities as liquidity increases.

What Lies Ahead: Potential Scenarios for Altseason

Given the current market dynamics, traders are left to ponder whether an altseason is on the horizon and what form it might take. The accompanying report presents several scenarios that could influence the emergence and nature of the next altseason:

Advanced

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Bybit x Block Scholes Institution Report: Altcoin Rotation — Why Altseason Hasn’t Come This Time?

Feb 10, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

 explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly Highlight — Mixed Job Reports Rattle Market

The recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report indicates that U.S. job growth is slowing, yet remains healthy. Nonfarm payrolls grew by 143,000 last month, with upward revisions for November and December 2024, as they added 100,000 jobs. The unemployment rate has dipped to 4.0%, demonstrating a robust labor market, although the annual revisions suggest job gains were softer than initially reported, averaging 166,000 per month in 2024.

Simultaneously, inflation expectations are rising, driven partly by tariffs proposed by U.S. president Trump. Data from the University of Michigan reveals consumers anticipate price increases, which may complicate the Federal Reserve's decision-making. Fed officials have indicated they aren’t in a rush to lower interest rates further after a series of cuts last year, suggesting they prefer to observe how the economy reacts to potential policy changes.

The job growth in January 2025 was primarily concentrated in health care, retail and government sectors, while mining and manufacturing faced declines. Severe weather conditions contributed to nearly 600,000 people missing work, the highest impact in four years.

Despite these fluctuations, hourly wages increased by 0.5% month-over-month and 4.1% year-over-year, reflecting pressure on wages amid labor market tightness. The participation rate in the labor force stands at 62.6%, with notable contributions from foreign-born workers, highlighting immigration as a critical factor in employment growth.

As the Fed assesses the stability of the labor market, upcoming directives from the Trump administration, including potential immigration restrictions, could impact future job growth and economic conditions. While the landscape shows signs of moderation, it remains resilient, with cautious optimism surrounding economic stability.

Weekly Crypto Highlight — Crypto IPOs Coming

As reported, Gemini, the cryptocurrency firm founded by the Winklevoss twins, is potentially exploring an 

 (IPO) this year. The company is currently discussing the listing with potential advisers, although no final decisions have yet been made.

Bullish Global, a crypto exchange operator whose backers include billionaire Peter Thiel, is considering an IPO as soon as this year.

The interest in going public comes amid a surge of crypto firms accelerating their IPO plans since President Trump's election, as he has shown support for the industry. The Winklevoss twins, known for their legal battles with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, previously donated Bitcoin exceeding the campaign contribution limit to Trump, later receiving a refund for the excess.

Gemini employs over 500 people across several global locations, including New York, Seattle and London. Recently, the firm agreed to pay $5 million to settle a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) lawsuit alleging it misled regulators while trying to launch the first U.S.-regulated Bitcoin futures contract. Additionally, Gemini has committed to returning at least $1.1 billion to customers affected by the Genesis Global Capital bankruptcy as part of a settlement with New York regulators relating to its Gemini Earn program.

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Mixed U.S. Job Reports; Crypto IPOs Coming

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events and the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume, as well as futures, options and perpetual contracts.

Another week brought another risk-off event in the crypto market, reflecting its correlation with equities. Despite last week's sell-off, BTC outperformed the broader market with a milder decline, evident in its derivatives positioning. Options markets initially priced short-term volatility higher, but the inversion resolved quickly. In contrast, ETH experienced a sharper inversion, with significant spikes in short-term options and realized volatility. A liquidation event led to an estimated $10 billion loss in open interest for perpetual swap contracts, 

. This bearish sentiment was reflected in funding rates, with altcoins showing a more persistent negative trend post-crash as compared to BTC.

Open interest collapsed across major tokens, flipping funding rates negative, except for BTC. ETH's realized volatility surged above 140%, its highest level in over three months, with the implied volatility term structure spiking and remaining inverted days after the crash.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Open Interest Falls During Painful Liquidation Event

Another Monday sell-off occurred alongside a decline in U.S. equities and other risk-on assets due to fears over Trump tariffs, leading to a drop in perpetual swap positioning. Nearly $3.1 billion in open interest was wiped out from the perpetual swap markets of BTC, ETH, XRP and SOL after a late-Friday high. This decline was likely driven by liquidated leveraged positions, as traders missed margin calls during the rapid drop in spot prices. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou estimated that the true notional value of liquidated positions across markets may have ranged from $8 billion to $10 billion. The sell-off also triggered the largest spike in trading volumes in over a month, with $31 billion in perpetual swap contracts traded on Feb 2, 2025 across the four major tokens’ markets.

Altcoin Funding Rates in Negative; BTC Clings to Neutral Rates

A second consecutive Monday-morning sell-off has kept perpetual swap funding rates low and negative, indicating excess demand for leveraged short exposure. This trend likely stems from the liquidation of long positions, due to the sharp correction in spot prices. Notably, altcoins' funding rates have shown more consistency since February 3, 2024, reflecting their steeper declines as compared to BTC’s.

ETH's spot price experienced a deeper correction than BTC’s during Monday's sell-off, dropping below $2.5K. Surprisingly, options market activity remained steady, likely due to fewer at-risk leveraged long positions to liquidate, thus keeping open interest levels firm. However, the spot move caused realized volatility to spike near 140%, with options markets pricing in a significant term structure inversion that has yet to be resolved. ETH's implied volatility is approximately 15 points higher than BTC's at equivalent tenors, indicating that traders expect continued volatility in ETH's spot price.

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Bybit X Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Feb 5, 2025): Record Liquidations Result From Perp; Traders Expect More Volatility in ETH

Victoria VR leverages AI and blockchain to enhance gaming with immersive VR experiences, AI-driven interactions, and a self-sustaining digital economy.

With over 3 billion gamers worldwide (and counting), the 

 industry needs to constantly find new and innovative ways to keep their myriad participants entertained and engaged. Technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and the 

, which include augmented reality (AR) and 

, have contributed substantially to creating an immersive gaming experience.

As the metaverse continues to unlock endless opportunities for the gaming world, Victoria VR has set out on a mission to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) to improve gaming experiences.

Let’s take a deeper look at Victoria VR and the way it’s leveraging AI to tap into the gaming metaverse and upgrade users' experiences.

Victoria VR is a blockchain-powered virtual reality (VR) AI metaverse designed to leverage AI and VR to provide an immersive web3 gaming experience. 

The Victoria VR blockchain project is on a mission to create a thriving and immersive infrastructure in which the gaming world can explore its metaverse in an enhanced way.

Through AI, Victoria VR provides gaming developers with AI tools to build immersive games in a secure, transparent and scalable ecosystem. With features like the VR AI Builder and AI Agents, Victoria VR provides an AI-powered ecosystem to interact with its metaverse.

Its native token, VR, is poised to provide users with a self-sustaining virtual economy in which gaming, blockchain, the metaverse and VR content creation can interact cohesively.

To shape the future of VR through an AI-powered metaverse for immersive gaming, Victoria VR has created the following features.

The VR AI Builder is designed to simplify developers' challenges when creating VR content. Currently, VR game development requires programming skills and significant resources in terms of time and money. However, the VR AI Builder is integrated with OpenAI, making it simple to use with simple text commands. With VR AI Builder, anyone can quickly create VR content, thereby reducing costs, saving time and supporting scalable growth. It also supports integrating new AI technologies as they continually emerge.

The VR AI Builder empowers both novices and experienced developers to create and expand virtual worlds, complete with games and assets. Furthermore companies can use the VR AI Builder to create virtual buildings, showrooms and storefronts; simulate training; and provide immersive experiences to their customers.

The VR AI Builder is driven by the VR token, which plays a crucial role in building and monetizing virtual worlds.

At the heart of Victoria VR’s metaverse are its AI Agents, autonomous and intelligent creations that can independently interact and adapt in a virtual environment. These agents learn user behaviors and preferences in order to provide customized and effective support.

Creating VR AI Agents on the platform is accessible to everyone, and doesn’t require advanced technical knowledge. Some specific roles these agents can perform include NPCs in games, shopping assistants in virtual stores and even virtual teachers.

VRtap is a Telegram-based clicker PvP game by Victoria VR that uses feng shui to immerse players in an elemental adventure, helping the project community stay connected and engaged.

Some of the features of VRtap include the following:

VR is the native token that powers the Victoria VR platform. It's designed to facilitate seamless interaction on the platform and ensure a self-sustaining economy. The total supply of VR is 16.8 billion tokens, with a current circulating supply of just under 6.85 billion.

As a utility token, VR has numerous use cases on the platform, including staking, governance and diverse use in powering Victoria VR's AI and gaming aspects.

The VR token is crucial to the self-sustaining aspect of Victoria VR's gaming pillar. It’s designed to ensure long-term sustainable value for the various stakeholders in the ecosystem.

The VR token is essential for accessing and monetizing the VR AI Builder feature. Builders need VR tokens to buy VR land in order to start using the feature. Once you have VR content, you can monetize it and receive payments in VR tokens.

Furthermore, the platform collects part of the fees generated through this feature in the form of VR tokens, which boosts circulation and enhances token utility.

The VR token helps create and fuel intelligent virtual experiences through VR AI Agents on Victoria VR. VR tokens’ use cases for VR AI Agents include the following:

VR tokens facilitate user interaction with the Victoria VR metaverse via both PC and mobile versions. Users can earn VR tokens through activities such as mining and community engagement. These tokens also ensure a cross-platform economy, whereby VR tokens earned from either version can be used across the Victoria VR ecosystem.

 Perpetual contract in the Innovation Zone with up to 20x leverage. Tokens listed in the Innovation Zone are typically from new projects that may be subject to higher volatility.

As of Feb 7, 2025, Victoria VR's price was $0.007863, a 98.7% drop from its all-time high (ATH) price of $0.61 on Dec 10, 2021, and a 67.7% increase from its ATL of $0.0047 on Jan 3, 2023.

Price prediction experts are cautiously bullish on the future price of the VR token. Experts at CoinCodex believe that VR 

 a maximum price of $0.01 in 2027, and increase to $0.03 in 2030. Meanwhile, DigitalCoinPrice’s forecasting experts believe that VR 

 $0.028 in 2027 and reach $0.0425 by 2030.

That said, these bullish predictions don't guarantee the future price of VR. We highly recommend you 

 before investing in VR or any other cryptocurrency.

Victoria VR is redefining the metaverse with its AI-driven, hyperrealistic virtual world. By blending blockchain technology with immersive VR, it offers an unparalleled digital experience so users can explore, interact and create with limitless possibilities.

Victoria VR’s integration of AI into gaming through the VR AI Builder and AI Agents gives it a competitive edge, and makes the project stand out in the web3 space, making its native token, VR, an asset to watch in the web3 space.

Beginner

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Victoria VR (VR): The Ultimate AI-Driven Metaverse Experience

Trading

Position trading may or may not be your favorite. But if you intend to invest long-term, here's what you must know about a position trade.

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You might be wondering what do the wealthiest investors in the world have in common? The quick answer is that they use money to find more money. Instead of saving, they re-invest and envision a fortune in the longer-term. In other words, they see the bigger picture (the long-term trends) and then trade in that direction. So, if you’re thinking of position trading, good! You’re halfway there.

And you know what? Position trading helps traders to find significant trends and take advantage of long-term investing. This trading style has a competitive advantage compared to the short-term trading styles like day trading, which has many pitfalls.

Below is the guide you want to know about position trading and the main concepts to learn about this trading approach. The best part, it’s supposed to give you the idea to find potential trading positions.

Position trading is a trading style where the investor holds a position (long or short) for an extended period. With position trading, the time horizon goes from days, weeks, to even years. The main purpose behind this long-term trading strategy is to take advantage of the more prominent trends. 

Position trading is beneficial, especially compared to other trading styles, let’s say, (

); it offers the opportunity to catch larger price movements on a percentage basis. Therefore, providing more potential for profit in the long term.

Let’s be real. There’s no one size fits all kind of trading strategy, and position trading is no exception.

The key is to decide on a trading style that is aligned with the personality and profile. To give an overview of a position trader’s day-to-day life, here’s how it looks like: 

Usually, this style provides more time and less stress because you don’t have to stay glued to the screen every day, and any minor fluctuation shouldn’t affect the long-term view of the asset. The critical element that differentiates position trader and day trader is patience. Position traders rather prefer to wait for the expected movement.

Usually, position trading is more suitable for those who have more commitments outside of the market. That means it’s ideal for those who have a full-time job, family, business, or more personal obligations. Additionally, institutional traders heavily utilize this approach to build positions that could generate bigger yields in time. 

There are many ways how position trading can be applied. However, most are based on technical analysis, 

, or a mixture of both. Those two forms of analysis are essential as they are literally the pillar to make sound investment decisions.

 is slightly different from the crypto space because the cryptocurrencies don’t have the same characteristics as other assets (like stocks or forex). However, the main idea behind the fundamental analysis is to find the “fair” crypto value and define based on the current price if the cryptocurrency is undervalued or overvalued.

Some of the main factors to have into consideration are:

 is related to the study of prices and volumes, allowing for better timing for entries. Additionally, it provides objective price levels where crypto investors could define the risk, profit targets, and areas where the position can be built. There are many position trading strategies built upon technical analysis; some of them will be explained later in this article.

It is important to remember that position trading uses long-term time frames; weekly, monthly, and yearly charts are the primary reference for the position traders. That is because they can identify the long-term trends and eventually define possible entry points.

An example of this trading style can be observed in the action of Bitcoin (BTCUSD) weekly chart, where the price 

. This sample provides an idea of the potential of using a position trading approach.

Position Trading vs. Day Trading vs. Swing Trading: Differences

The main difference between day trading vs. swing trading vs. position trading is the holding period. The holding period is the duration of time between the purchase of a cryptocurrency and its sale.

Additionally, it’s relevant to notice that some of the most significant returns come from directional markets with a considerable volatility amount. Nowadays, the cryptocurrency market matches those criteria. Therefore, it would be an interesting vehicle to establish long-term positions (position trading) that can yield exciting returns.

of day trading. Mainly because position trading implies holding positions for extended periods (months to years) while day trading is entering and exiting trades during one trading day. 

Day trading requires more daily attention because the trader must be in front of the screens throughout the day. Meanwhile, the position trader only has to check the market a few times a month because the time horizon is long.

Here’s an example of how trading Ethereum (ETCHUSD) shows the difference between position trading and day trading:

Swing trading is when the trader holds a position (long or short) during days or weeks, and it differs from position trading because the holding period is lower.

Although it doesn’t require as much time of attention as day trading, a swing trader must still check the prices several times per week. A rule of thumb, you must always be aware of the medium-term fluctuations that could affect the asset.

In the chart above of ETHUSD, depending on the trading style, the time of price development takes different magnitudes. In position trading (monthly chart) 15 months while in swing trading (Daily chart) 9 days.

In regards to position trading strategies, there are several methods that a crypto investor can apply. Because position trading involves tactically buying and holding cryptocurrencies for the long run, some of the technical analysis strategies used to time the market includes— 

moving average, support and resistance, breakouts, pullbacks, and range trading

The main reference for this kind of trading style will be the larger time frames, such as the weekly, monthly, and yearly charts. 

Let’s start by analyzing the trading breakout. 

Breakout trading is when the entry is placed at the point where a 

. This high could be an all-time high or a relevant level defined by the monthly or yearly chart.

The idea is that after the entry is triggered, the price must keep going. If not, the trade must be obliterated immediately.

BTCUSD is a good example; see how after the price broke the 12.473 (black dot = entry) level, it went straight up, breaking the most relevant previous structure. The 

 should have been located just below the bar that triggered the breakout.

 to identify possible continuation points after the price has reached its mean (the average) before continuing in the previous movement’s direction. Usually, this strategy yields better returns in trending markets.

One of the most used averages is the 9EMA. It is usually an indicator of momentum and provides good entry points when the momentum is strong.

For example, in the chart below the ETHUSD weekly chart, we can see how the 9EMA (black line) acted as dynamic support and eventually marked ideal entry areas to build a core position trading towards the long side (black arrows).

 is a popular yet powerful method to define entry and exit points. In essence, the support and resistance levels are key price levels on the crypto chart that tend to stop a cryptocurrency price from going any further.

Usually, when the support or resistance is tested several times, it can provide a solid area to place an order and define the risk.

In the sample above, the Litecoin weekly chart (LTCUSDT) was revolving around the 38 – 40 support area. See how previously the action was supported around this level (black dots) and eventually provide a good entry point where the risk was low compared to the possible run to the upside (Green arrow).

Pullback and retracement trading is when the trader looks for an entry on a corrective action within the context of a trend. The main idea behind pullback trading is to wait for a retracement during a trending move and use additional price action with some exhaustion action. Such as a 

 or a Fibonacci retracement to provide accurate timing.

In the weekly chart of BTCUSD, we can see two main spots to define a long entry (black dots). One after the Doji formation and one after the inside and up candle. Additionally, the stop loss should be placed below the previous swing low.

Range trading is a method that seeks to exploit trading opportunities when a 

cryptocurrency bounces between support and resistance level

, which acts as a price barrier. The price zone between the support and resistance levels is what most technicians refer to as being the range.

Usually, a price range is established when we have multiple bounces off support and the resistance level. On the price chart, this will appear like the price is being “trapped” inside a consolidation without having a clear direction.

In the context of position trading, the main idea is to play the breakout in the prevailing trend direction. For example, if Bitcoin is in a strong uptrend, you would want to 

Here in the daily chart of BTCUSD, we have identified a well-established range that eventually fueled a movement to the upside as soon as the price broke above the upper limit of the price range.

Of course, position trading is attractive. But the real deal is because it allows you to have:

Position trading also has risks associated and must be understood before applying this approach. 

The best style must suit your personality of each crypto investor and his experience in the market. For example, if you find yourself 

. You can check the market a few times per week or month to manage your positions accordingly to the medium and long-term action.

 is for you. There, you can see a daily profit and loss without stressing over an overnight position.

Usually, institutional traders and more experienced traders prefer position trading as they typically trade with big order blocks. These are buy-and-hold traders compared to retail traders who have a shorter time horizon and choose day trading or swing trading.

Position trading is a style that allows investors to participate in the major trends and eventually outperform the average trader returns. It perfectly suits traders who have limited time due to different commitments outside of the market environment (family, work, or business).

Additionally, it offers the opportunity to avoid the random “noise” usually found in lower time frames, where a minor fluctuation can shake out the trader’s positions. All and all, position trading is a great approach to participate in significant trends and increase profits exponentially.

Explained: What Is Position Trading vs. Swing Trading?

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