Altcoin Season Index Chart

What is the Altcoin Season Index?

The Altcoin Index measures how the leading altcoins have performed relative to Bitcoin, typically over the past 90 days. It provides a simple 0 to 100 scale reflecting the proportion of these altcoins that outpaced Bitcoin’s performance.

A reading of 100 indicates every tracked altcoin outperformed Bitcoin, signaling strong altcoin dominance. Conversely, a score of 0 means none did, highlighting Bitcoin’s clear lead. Usually, the score sits somewhere in the middle, serving as a quick indicator for investors to gauge market leadership at a glance.

The index is especially useful for spotting shifts in investor appetite between Bitcoin and altcoins, revealing how market momentum is evolving and where strength currently resides in crypto.

How is the Altcoin Index Calculated?

The Altcoin Index tracks how many leading altcoins have recently beaten Bitcoin’s performance, typically over the past 90 days. Here's the step-by-step breakdown:

• Selection of Altcoins: It starts with the top 50 to 100 altcoins by market cap, deliberately excluding Bitcoin to focus solely on altcoin strength.
• Establish Timeframe: The calculation consistently uses the most recent rolling 90-day period for clarity and comparability.
• Measure Returns: For each altcoin, the percentage price change over the past 90 days is calculated.
• Compare to Bitcoin: Each altcoin’s return is compared directly against Bitcoin’s performance for the identical timeframe.
• Identify Outperformers: Altcoins that delivered higher returns than Bitcoin are counted.
• Calculate Index Percentage: The final count of outperformers is divided by the total number of altcoins tracked, then multiplied by 100, providing an intuitive percentage score.
• Chart Visualization: This percentage is plotted on a chart, offering an easily digestible snapshot of market momentum shifts between Bitcoin and altcoins.

How to Read the Altcoin Index Chart

The Altcoin Index chart gives traders quick insight into whether altcoins or Bitcoin currently have market momentum. Here's how to interpret its levels:

• 0–25 (Bitcoin Season): Bitcoin is clearly leading, with altcoins broadly lagging. Investors typically show caution or preference for stability here.
• 26–50 (Shifting Momentum): Bitcoin still leads overall, but a rising number of altcoins show improving strength, hinting at possible shifts ahead.
• 51–75 (Altcoin Momentum Building): Altcoins start gaining clear traction, indicating a likely rotation of capital from Bitcoin toward higher-risk crypto assets.
• 76–100 (Full Altcoin Season): Altcoins dominate performance, signaling bullish sentiment and risk appetite across the market.

In practical terms, if the index reads 85, that means 85% of tracked altcoins recently outperformed Bitcoin. Conversely, a reading around 15 highlights a clear Bitcoin-driven market with minimal altcoin strength.