Bitcoin’s latest market cycle marks a marked shift in the structure of the cryptocurrency market. Data shared by CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju revealed that the capital shift from Bitcoin to smaller cryptocurrencies, which was common in past cycles, has weakened significantly since 2021. This picture raised the question of whether the broad-based altcoin rallies that stood out in previous periods of rise could occur again in the same way.
Volume decreased in BTC parities
According to the data pointed out by Ki Young Ju on X, the transaction volume between Bitcoin and altcoins has dropped sharply in the last few years. It was stated that while preparing the data, major assets such as Ethereum, XRP, BNB and Solana were excluded and the broader altcoin group was taken as basis. CryptoQuant is known as a crypto research platform that offers analysis on on-chain data and market flows.
During the 2017 and 2018 and 2021 bull cycles, investors were directing some of their gains in Bitcoin to smaller cryptocurrencies. This flow supported widespread rises in the altcoin market and fed the altcoin season phenomenon, which is frequently used in the market.
Mini dictionary: Altcoin season is the market expression for a number of cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin performing stronger than Bitcoin during the same period.
Ki Young Ju stated that the asset transition from Bitcoin to altcoins, which supported altcoin rallies in the past, has now largely disappeared, and the altcoin volume in BTC parities has collapsed since 2021.
Current data also supports this view. While Bitcoin maintains strong market performance, BTC-based altcoin transaction volumes remain near multi-year lows. This indicates that investors are not moving into smaller tokens at the pace seen in previous cycles.
| Period | market behavior |
|---|---|
| 2017 to 2018, 2021 | Bitcoin gains shifted to altcoins more frequently |
| after 2021 | Altcoin volume in BTC pairs has weakened significantly |
Concentration in market structure came to the fore
Data shows that price movements in Bitcoin are no longer producing the same extent of rise in the altcoin market as a whole. Rather than being spread across hundreds of alternative assets, capital appears to be concentrated mostly in Bitcoin and a limited number of digital assets with large market caps.
Market observers also note that stablecoin trading pairs have become more dominant in recent years. This change may have weakened Bitcoin’s direct influence on many altcoins. Thus, token prices seem to have become more sensitive to project developments, ecosystem growth, liquidity conditions and adoption indicators.
Additional indicators revealed that there was limited change in buy transaction activity and overall altcoin volume trends between 2018 and 2026, while the transaction relationship between Bitcoin and altcoins slowed down significantly.
This trend may indicate a maturing market structure in which investors are becoming more selective. It is considered that instead of buying altcoins just because Bitcoin is rising, market participants are looking more closely at the fundamentals of the project.
If the current order continues, future altcoin rises can be expected to be shaped by movements specific to certain assets rather than a broad capital rotation. This would mark a significant departure from the market dynamics that defined previous crypto bull cycles.
