Altcoin Season Isn’t Just Starting—It’s Already Halfway There, Says Ray Youssef

Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) dropped sharply to a 7-month low. This decline coincides with a rising altcoin index, prompting speculation about the onset of an altseason. 

However, Ray Youssef, CEO of the crypto platform NoOnes, disclosed to BeInCrypto that the altcoin season is not just beginning but is at its peak, challenging prevailing market analyses.

Did Altcoin Season Really Start?  

According to the latest data, BTC.D fell to 59.3% today, its lowest level since February 2025.

Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) Performance. Source: TradingView

At the same time, the BlockchainCenter Altcoin Season Index rose to 53. This suggested the market has not yet met the traditional altcoin season threshold of 75. Still, the growth is quite significant, leading many experts to predict the start of an altseason.

“Altcoin season confirmed,” James Wynn stated.

ALTCOIN SEASON STARTS NOW!ETHEREUM LEADS THE WAY !!!

— Carl Moon August 12, 2025

Nonetheless, Cas Abbé, a noted market commentator, argued that the current market state reflects an ‘Ethereum Season’ rather than a broad altcoin rally.

“We are in the Ethereum Season, as the majority of liquidity is flowing into ETH. For Altseason, we need more retail liquidity which won’t come until ETH hits a new ATH. Once that happens, Others/BTC pair will start to show strength and could even breakout of this downtrend. My timeline is that it’ll happen in Oct/Nov 2025,” Abbé posted.

Meanwhile, other experts view Ethereum’s strength as a precursor to a broader incoming altcoin surge.

Ray Youssef on the True Start of Altcoin Season: It Began in April

While opinions vary, one thing is clear: these analysts believe that either the altcoin season hasn’t truly started yet, or we’re still at the beginning. However, Ray Youssef disagrees with this projection.

“The altcoin season moves fast, and it’s all too easy to mistake the end for the beginning. What may feel like the start right now is, at best, the middle of the run,” he told BeInCrypto.

Youssef asserted that from late June to early July, the market offered many investment opportunities, or bargains, with cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin (DOGE), Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and others. 

He suggested that the rise in these assets could be seen as an indicator that the altcoin season had begun. However, Youssef believes April would be a more accurate starting point for the altcoin season. At the time, Ethereum rebounded from $1,500.

Furthermore, he pointed to the drop in Bitcoin’s dominance and the fact that over 30 altcoins have outperformed Bitcoin in the last 90 days as evidence of the altcoin season’s peak. 

“This year’s alt season has mirrored the changing seasons in nature — a long April thaw, a chilly June, and only by late July-early August did summer truly arrive for altcoins. Autumn will come quickly, and prices will fall like leaves in October,” the executive commented. 

Youssef sees potential for established altcoins like Solana and XRP to significantly increase their market value, possibly by a large margin. According to him, if the coins succeed, they could move beyond the ‘altcoin’ category and become major players in the market, stepping out of Ethereum’s shadow.

“If that happens — and given that Solana’s network, for example, is arguably better suited for payments than Ethereum — it would be a serious test for Ethereum and a real trial for the altcoins tied to it,” he remarked. 

He also suggested that as institutional investment in Bitcoin and Ethereum continues, it could drain them of their volatility. Therefore, after this, meme coins like DOGE, Pepe (PEPE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Floki (FLOKI) could experience a resurgence.

“The inflow of institutional capital into Ethereum will extend the summer for altcoins — but the real question is, for how long and which coins will benefit. By the time crypto winter arrives, the ones that received this institutional backing are the most likely to hold their value. Speculative tokens with no real utility, no users, and no role in the growing Web3 economy will vanish for good,” Youssef mentioned to BeInCrypto.

The CEO’s diverging perspective prompts a reevaluation of the current market state, particularly with institutional capital flows shaping the next phase of cryptocurrency growth.