Altcoin season (or "alt season") is a period when altcoins - every coin other than bitcoin - rise faster than bitcoin itself. There's no fixed schedule for it. Traders read a handful of signals to judge whether the market is leaning that way.
Signs people commonly watch
- Bitcoin dominance. Bitcoin's share of the total crypto market cap. When it falls, money is often rotating from bitcoin into altcoins.
- Ethereum's strength. When ETH outperforms BTC, that strength often spreads to the wider altcoin market.
- Trading volume. A clear rise in altcoin trading activity relative to bitcoin.
- Sentiment. More talk about small caps in communities and on social media is another hint that risk appetite is growing.
None of these guarantees an alt season on its own. They're more useful read together than one at a time.
The risk of chasing pumps
Alt season is also when it's easiest to get hurt:
- Buying after a big run often means buying near the top.
- Thin liquidity cuts both ways. Smaller coins can rise fast, and they can fall just as fast.
- When the season ends, altcoins often drop much harder than bitcoin.
That's why it helps to decide three things before you buy: your entry, your target and how long you're willing to wait. Without a plan, it's easy to hold a fading coin for far too long.
Picks on WhaleCue
Picks surfaces candidate coins likely to rise on Upbit, Bithumb, Binance and Coinbase, chosen by our internal logic and published every morning at 9:30 AM KST. Each pick comes with:
- A fixed target. Buy near the close and set a limit sell at the target.
- A deadline. If the target isn't reached in time, the pick is sold on its deadline.
- A visible record. Closed picks stay on the page marked as either "hit target" or "expired", so you can see how past picks played out.
A fixed target and deadline built into every pick keep you from getting swept up in the mood and holding on indefinitely.
Picks is not investment advice, and past results don't guarantee future returns. Always make your own decisions.