Few things in crypto are as elusive and misunderstood as the concept of an “altcoin season.” Traditionally, this term referred to a brief window — usually 2–3 months — following a Bitcoin (BTC) price rally, where altcoins outperform BTC in cumulative returns. That pattern held in the 2015–2018 and 2019–2022 cycles, but the verdict is not yet in on whether the current bull market has had its altcoin season. 

The Blockchain Center defines an altcoin season as a period when 75% of the top 50 altcoins outperform Bitcoin over a rolling 90-day timeframe. Its Altseason Index registered upticks in March 2024 and again in January 2025 — but neither lasted long enough to qualify as a full-fledged altseason.

Altcoin season index. Source: Blockchain Center

Some analysts argue that memecoins drained liquidity from the broader altcoin market. Others blame the oversaturation of crypto investment products — particularly ETFs — which cater to institutions and spotlight only the largest altcoins. A third explanation calls for a deeper rethink of what altcoins actually are. Within this view, altcoins are perceived as a unified asset class but are a diverse collection of crypto assets with different functions, value structures, and growth potential.

Memecoins stole the spotlight

For the crypto analyst Miles Deutscher, the launch of Pump.fun is directly correlated to the destruction of the altcoin market vs BTC.

“The reason we’ve seen no major “altseason” across majors is because the speculative capital that would’ve once poured into top 200 assets, instead decided to jump the gun and flood into onchain low caps instead.”

Deutscher notes that the early birds and insiders got insanely rich from this, but most retail investors who entered late lost. This was also the case in previous altcoin cycles. However, unlike 2022, where the losses were mainly limited to CEX altcoins with solid liquidity, they got stuck into illiquid onchain memecoins, which quickly retraced 70%-80%. This led to a “wealth destruction event greater than the early 2022 bear (LUNA aside),” even though BTC (and some majors) are still in a macro bull trend.

Solana TVL vs Top 125 Alts (excl. Top 10). Source: Miles Deutscher

Politics in the United States added fuel to the memecoin craze. For example, President Donald Trump’s public embrace of memecoins sparked momentum — but the results quickly disappointed. TRUMP and MELANIA tokens have dropped 83% and 95%, respectively, since launching at the end of January, delivering another hit to retail sentiment.

Related: Will new US SEC rules bring crypto companies onshore?

Institutional investors and ETFs shifted the tide

Another factor impacting the strength of the current bull market’s altcoin season was the arrival of Wall Street. The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 brought $129 billion in inflows as investors rushed into familiar structures with custody, regulation, and easy access. BlackRock’s IBIT became a dominant vehicle, and the introduction of ETF options in July 2024 added even more depth. 

Some analysts believe that the safety and scalability of spot BTC ETFs sucked capital away from speculative assets. With the ability to hedge through options and futures, the incentive to gamble on illiquid, low-volume altcoins diminishes significantly. 

But this explanation has limits. Crypto is not a zero-sum market — global liquidity is growing, and capital entering the space can flow in many directions. If anything, institutional demand could expand the total crypto pie.

Furthermore, some altcoins already have their ETFs as well. Spot Ether ETFs debuted in July 2024 and have since registered a modest net inflow of $565,000, according to CoinGlass. Such a drastic difference in scale with spot BTC ETFs suggests that the ETF structure alone isn’t enough; investor conviction still matters.

Altcoin’s function and their rallies became more nuanced

The term “altcoin” emerged when any non-Bitcoin token was novel. But in today’s ecosystem, the term lumps together wildly different assets: blockchain-native coins, governance tokens, stablecoins, memecoins, DApp tokens, and real-world asset protocol tokens — each with distinct functions and investor profiles. Just as it wouldn’t make sense to group gold, Nvidia stock, and the US dollar into a single index in traditional finance, it makes little sense to treat all altcoins as one unified category.

A closer look at price action supports this idea. According to CoinGecko data, major altcoin categories have diverged sharply this cycle. Real-world asset (RWA) tokens surged 15x. GameFi, by contrast, lost half its market cap. This shows that narratives play a growing role in driving investors’ capital allocation decisions.

Crypto categories market cap. Source: CoinGecko

Even core blockchain tokens have started to specialize. Ethereum remains the hub for DeFi. Solana dominates memecoins. Tron now holds second place in stablecoin transfers. ImmutableX is carving out its territory in the gaming space. In each case, token performance is increasingly tied to ecosystem activity. This means that we might want to abandon the term “altseason” and start to pay more attention to specific narratives within the crypto space.

Altcoins aren’t moving as a pack anymore, and that might be the biggest signal of how the crypto market is maturing.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Blockchain firm Ripple Labs’ case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be officially wrapped up after more than four years, subject to court approval.

According to a March 25 X post from chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty claiming what could be “the last update on SEC v. Ripple ever,” the executive said Ripple will drop its cross-appeal against the SEC in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. An August 2024 judgment from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York finding Ripple liable for $125 million will essentially stand, but the SEC will keep only $50 million of the amount in escrow — the remaining balance will be returned to Ripple.

“The agency will also ask the Court to lift the standard injunction that was imposed earlier at the SEC’s request,” said Alderoty. “All subject to Commission vote, drafting of final documents and usual court processes.”

Ripple chief legal officer statement on latest development with SEC case. Source: Stuart Alderoty

Alderoty’s announcement came less than seven days after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the SEC would drop its appeal over the August 2024 judgment. At the time of publication, neither the SEC nor Ripple appeared to have made any filing in the Second Circuit since Jan. 31 or in SDNY since October.

The Ripple CLO told Cointelegraph on March 11 that both the SEC and blockchain firm agreeing to drop their respective appeal and cross-appeal would allow the lower court’s $125-million judgment to stand. However, both parties could go “hand-in-hand” to SDNY Judge Analisa Torress to request a modification of the judgment.

Related: Coinbase asks appeals court to rule crypto trades aren’t securities

It’s unclear whether Ripple also intends to drop its appeal over a July 2023 court decision largely classifying XRP sales to retail investors as unregistered securities. Cointelegraph reached out to Ripple for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Getting Ripple involved in politics

The SEC v. Ripple case, filed by the commission under US President Donald Trump in December 2020, was one of the agency’s longest-running enforcement cases against a major US crypto company. 

Garlinghouse said in an interview aired in December 2024 that the firm may not have gotten as involved in US politics if the commission had been led by someone other than former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, despite the Ripple case being filed under then-Chair Jay Clayton.

During the 2024 election cycle, Ripple contributed $45 million to the political action committee Fairshake to support “pro-crypto” candidates and pledged $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration fund. Alderoty suggested to Cointelegraph that the SEC dropping cases was “independent” of any political donations.

Since the Nov. 5 election in which Trump defeated then-Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Garlinghouse and Alderoty have attended Washington, DC events during the inauguration as official guests, and the CEO joined in a March 7 summit at the White House in which the US President discussed his plans for stablecoins and a crypto regulatory framework.

On March 27, members of the Senate Banking Committee will consider the nomination of former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to potentially return to chair the agency. He is expected to face questions over his positions on crypto regulation and potential conflicts of interest.

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

Nubank, a Latin American financial bank backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has expanded its crypto offerings by adding four altcoins to its portfolio.

The bank is adding Cardano (ADA), Near Protocol (NEAR), Cosmos (ATOM), and Algorand (ALGO) to its 100 million clients in Brazil, according to a March 25 announcement. The four coins had a combined market capitalization of $34.6 billion at time of writing.

Nubank’s revenue grew to nearly $3 billion at the end of 2024 from $245 million in the first quarter of 2021, Statista data show.

The four additional coins will bring Nubank Cripto’s total coin offerings to 20. Currently, the platform’s customers can buy, sell and swap Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), USDC (USDC), and XRP (XRP).

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has invested in Nubank multiple times. In 2021, Berkshire Hathaway invested $500 million in Nubank’s Series G funding round, an amount later followed by an additional $1 billion. From 2022 to 2024, Buffett’s company increased its ownership stake in Nubank to 0.4% from 0.1%.

Nubank’s crypto push faces competition

Nubank has been diving into digital assets since 2022, when it announced the allocation of 1% of net assets to BTC and started offering crypto services. In October 2022, the company revealed plans to launch its loyalty tokens on the Polygon blockchain. It discontinued the servicein 2024.

Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately $5.4 trillion in 2024, World Economics estimates.

The country’s cryptocurrency market has experienced significant growth over the past few years, with stablecoins accounting for 90% of all crypto transactions.

In January 2025, Binance became the first crypto exchange to secure a broker-dealer license to operate in Brazil. UK fintech Revolut has also entered the country’s crypto market.

In 2024, Brazil led crypto trading volume in Latin America with $6 billion traded. The country’s lawmakers are currently considering allowing salary payments in Bitcoin.

Magazine: Charles Hoskinson, Cardano and Ethereum – for the record