The Altcoin Season Index rose to 55 in early January 2026, reaching its highest level in about three months.
This does not yet indicate a full-fledged alt season, but analysts note that momentum is building, suggesting a potential broad rally in altcoins.
Altcoin Season Index Reaches Three-Month High
The Altcoin Season Index is a metric that measures periods when major altcoins outperform Bitcoin. Specifically, it is considered an "alt season" when more than 75% of the top 50 cryptocurrencies (excluding stablecoins) outperform Bitcoin over the past 90 days.
The current reading of 55 points indicates growing momentum in altcoins, though it has not yet reached the point of officially confirming an altseason.
Meanwhile, market observers have also pointed to key signals suggesting the upcoming altseason. In a recent post, an analyst noted that the OTHERS/BTC index has bottomed out and shows signs of a breakout. According to the analyst, similar conditions were observed before major altcoin rallies in past cycles.
Simon Dedick, founder of Moonrock Capital, stated that the current altcoin market is moving as expected. From the end of the first quarter through the middle of the second quarter, momentum is likely to strengthen further, potentially leading to broad breakouts and rapid price movements.
"The alignment of liquidity and business cycles will further accelerate this trend. 2026 will be the year when the altseason returns," said Dedick.
BeInCrypto has previously identified three key signals suggesting the arrival of an altseason in 2026. These include the formation of bullish divergence on weekly charts, the potential breakout of outperformance among altcoins outside the top 10, and sustained high trading volume in altcoins despite weak price movements.
João Wedson, founder and CEO of Alphractal, offered a different perspective focused on capital flow mechanisms. He stated that mini-altcoin seasons tend to emerge approximately every 48 hours, and there is a tendency for Bitcoin and altcoin performance to shift alternately every 12 hours.
"In other words, there are times when Bitcoin leads and altcoins follow. This rotation is precisely why market makers can efficiently accumulate assets—shifting capital from Bitcoin to altcoins and back to Bitcoin again," explained Wedson.
Growing attention on key themes amid expectations of an altseason
As expectations for the arrival of an altseason continue, attention is turning to which sector will lead. According to Kate Miller, meme coins could produce the biggest winners in the next altseason, though only a very small number of tokens are expected to deliver exceptional returns.
"Meme coins will create millionaires in the next altseason. However, only a tiny fraction will achieve returns exceeding 100x," the individual posted.
Since the beginning of 2026, meme coins have generally maintained a solid performance in line with the overall market uptrend. Although slightly pulled back recently, they remain in positive territory, with many major tokens recording gains over the past week.
According to Artemis Analytics data, AI-related tokens are currently the most dominant within altcoins. The AI sector, one of the strongest performers this year, has recorded a year-to-date increase of 20.9% in weighted average fully diluted market cap, ranking among the top sectors in the cryptocurrency space, second only to the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Furthermore, according to BeInCrypto's analysis, decentralized exchange (DEX) tokens are emerging as strong leading candidates for the next altseason. Adoption of DEXs is expanding, with their share of spot and perpetual trading volume showing an upward trend compared to centralized exchanges.
At the same time, there has been a noticeable trend of large investors accumulating major DEX tokens during price declines, indicating preemptive positioning. Additionally, some major DEX tokens are beginning to show price movements increasingly independent from Bitcoin.
