Ethereum Surges Past Bitcoin as Altcoin Season Hopes Rise

The cryptocurrency market has shown signs of an altcoin season, but it's still unclear if the trend will persist. Ethereum outpaced Bitcoin in weekly performance, gaining nearly 29% compared to Bitcoin's 23%. This is a significant improvement for smaller cryptocurrencies, with the market capitalization of those outside the top 10 jumping about 23% last week.

However, despite this momentum, CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index remains at 37, far below its threshold of 75. The platform defines altcoin season as a period where 75% of eligible top-100 coins outperform Bitcoin over 90 days, and current market breadth has not reached that level.

Bitcoin dominance held near 59.7%, keeping smaller tokens dependent on whether capital rotates away from the largest cryptocurrency rather than simply rising alongside it. Ethereum's strong relative performance against Bitcoin is a common stage before capital spreads further into smaller cryptocurrencies.