Analysts say crypto markets are showing signs of a new regime as major cross pairs like XRP/BTC and ETH/BTC trade in unusually tight bands and the top-20 leaderboard remains largely unchanged—pointing to fundamentals-driven dispersion rather than the onset of a classic alt season.
Bitcoin’s drop below $90,000 earlier this week looked poised to trigger a sweeping risk-off move, but the broader market didn’t follow the familiar playbook. Altcoins held their ground, cross pairs stayed stable, and major rankings barely shifted—an uncommon outcome during a deep BTC correction.
In commentary to CoinDesk, Singapore-based market maker Enflux said this muted reaction is one of the clearest indicators that crypto is evolving beyond the liquidity-heavy cycles that once defined it.
“Majors without clear revenue, utility, or institutional relevance are down 60% to 80%,” the firm noted. “The old-school alt seasons—2017’s vertical mania or 2021’s leveraged reflexivity—thrived on narratives, loose liquidity, and retail excitement. Those drivers simply aren’t present at scale in this cycle.”
Enflux added that tokens backed by staking demand, ETF-related flows, or real-world usage have demonstrated relative resilience throughout the sell-off.
March Zheng of Bizantine Capital said he sees the same structural trend emerging.
“We’re tracking how the top twenty coins move relative to bitcoin’s market cap,” he said. “Thus far, the range has been surprisingly stable. In sharp bitcoin drawdowns, alts usually suffer far more damage.”
Zheng said this stability points to a more orderly, fundamentals-oriented market rather than a rotation-driven alt season.
Overall, the signals point to a market increasingly separating durable assets—those with users, revenue, or institutional interest—from speculative majors that are absorbing most of the downside pressure. The open question: will this fundamentals-first dynamic define the months ahead?
Market Movement
- BTC: Trading near $92,234 after rebounding from its dip below $90,000.
- ETH: Stable around $3,099 in line with broader market steadiness.
- Gold: Down for a fourth consecutive session at $4,064.60/oz as traders cut the odds of a December U.S. rate cut to roughly 50%, from nearly 94% a month ago.
- Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific stocks traded mixed Wednesday, though Japan’s benchmark reversed higher by 0.5% despite Wall Street’s AI-driven tech weakness.
Elsewhere in Crypto
- Pump’s new “Mayhem Mode” has not lifted token launches or revenue in its first week (The Block).
- Robinhood outlines a three-stage “Permissionless Assets” tokenization plan aimed at disrupting traditional finance (CoinDesk).
- Coinbase provides details on its donation to Trump’s ballroom (Axios).
