The first quarter of 2025 was dominated by talks of the altcoin season, as is usually the case when the bull cycle is ending. In past cycles, capital tends to rotate from Bitcoin to other cryptocurrencies as investors look for maximum gain before the arrival of the bear market.
However, the story has been very different for the cryptocurrency market so far this year, with most large-cap assets failing to enjoy the same capital rotation seen in past cycles. The latest on-chain data shows that Bitcoin has continued to dominate the crypto market, outperforming all categories of altcoins.
Is It Time To Buy Altcoins?
In an April 5 post on the X platform, pseudonymous analyst Darkfost shared an interesting on-chain insight into the performance of all altcoin categories relative to the world’s largest cryptocurrency. According to the online pundit, the altcoins are underperforming compared to Bitcoin in terms of market capitalization growth.
In their post, Darkfost compared the market cap growth of Bitcoin, large-cap altcoins (the top 20 largest altcoins), and mid-to-small cap altcoins by calculating the difference between their 365-day and the 30-day moving average (MAs). According to the analyst, the variation between the 365-day MA and the 30-day MA serves as an indicator of growth momentum.
Typically, when the short-term moving average (30-day MA) rises faster than the long-term moving average (365-day MA), it implies rapid market cap growth. On the flip side, a reduced growth momentum is indicated by a lagging 30-day moving average.
Source: @Darkfost_Coc on X
As observed in the chart above, Bitcoin is outpacing the large-cap and mid-to-small-cap altcoins in terms of their market cap growth. Darkfost noted that this difference in the growth ratio has reached a level last seen in October 2023, a period correlated with a brief altcoin rally and subsequently BTC’s dominance.
The analyst further highlighted that when this growth ratio turns negative, it often signals that a strong correction has occurred. Historically, a negative ratio might present a potential buying opportunity for investors looking to get into the market.
Bitcoin And Ethereum Price Quick Look
As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $83,500, reflecting no significant movement in the past 24 hours. At the same time, the ETH token is valued at around $1,805, with no change in the past day.
While the premier cryptocurrency dropped by about 15% in the first quarter of 2025, Ethereum lost almost double its value in the same period. This gap in performance underscores how woeful the “king of altcoins” has been in the past few months.
The price of BTC on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView
