Ki Young Ju Confirms Start of Alt Season

Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, has made a bold statement regarding altcoins amid signs of a market rebound. In an update on X, he informed crypto community members that the “alt season has begun,” echoing earlier sentiments from Changpeng Zhao.

Altcoins Surge as Trading Volume Outpaces Bitcoin

The “alt season” refers to periods when altcoins, like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), outperform Bitcoin (BTC), indicating a shift in coin dominance. Young Ju believes this alt season is different from previous cycles due to the lack of direct BTC to altcoin rotation. Instead of using Bitcoin as a base trading pair, many traders have turned to stablecoins like USDT and USDC, buying altcoins directly. This change suggests that Bitcoin no longer poses a significant threat to the U.S. dollar, indicating a shift in trader behavior.

Young Ju highlighted that “alt volume is 2.7x BTC,” signifying stronger demand for altcoins compared to Bitcoin. This suggests that trading volume, rather than Bitcoin dominance, is now a better metric for defining the alt season.

> Alt season has begun.
>
> No direct BTC-to-alt rotation, but stablecoin holders are favoring alts. Alt volume is 2.7x BTC. BTC Dominance no longer defines alt season—trading volume does.
>
> It’s a very selective alt season tho. DYOR. pic.twitter.com/7lSffDuuM8
> — Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) February 21, 2025

Interestingly, this shift deviates from the traditional indicator where a drop in Bitcoin dominance signaled the start of an alt season. In this instance, trading volume is being prioritized as a measure of altcoin dominance.

Is This the Start of a True Alt Season?

Despite the enthusiasm, Young Ju offered a cautionary note. He emphasized that not all altcoins will benefit equally. While certain projects show significant gains, others struggle to keep up. Investors in altcoins should perform their due diligence to assess which altcoins are promising and likely to sustain their viability.

A user, RobW, questioned whether Young Ju’s observation about a few tokens pumping truly reflects an alt season, suggesting it might be premature to call it one. Others recognized the rebound in some altcoins, though many have yet to recover previous high levels.