The cryptocurrency market in South Korea is undergoing a shift in sentiment: investors’ interest is gradually moving from Bitcoin to altcoins, though confidence in a new rally remains tentative. A survey conducted by CoinNess and Cratos among 2,000 traders indicates that market participants expect change but are approaching it with caution.
Investors Share Their Forecasts
According to the study, 33% of investors expect Bitcoin to rise this week, 35,7% foresee stabilization, and slightly over 31% anticipate a decline. Despite this, Bitcoin continues to dominate: after a pullback caused by U.S. trade tariffs, it climbed back above $87,000 and is now trading at $88.463, up 3,16% over the week.
Major altcoins are still lagging. Ethereum dropped 1,4% over the past seven days to $1,623, XRP fell 2,76% to $2.09, and Solana lost 1,93%, settling at $0.6332.
Altseason Expectations and Skepticism
Around 36% of respondents believe that altseason will begin in the third quarter, 22% expect it in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, 16,7% think the rally may start this quarter. However, 13,3% of participants do not expect an altcoin bull market in 2025 at all, and 11,3% believe it has already ended.
Despite some local optimism, the overall sentiment remains cautious: 46% of investors feel fear or extreme fear, 29,3% remain neutral, and only 24,7% feel optimistic.
Data and Opinions: What the Market Says
The Altcoin Season Index from CoinMarketCap currently stands at 16 — significantly below the threshold needed for a full-scale rally. According to CMC, Bitcoin’s market dominance exceeds 60%, while all altcoins combined account for less than 40%.
Since the beginning of 2024, the launch of Bitcoin ETFs has only strengthened BTC’s leadership, pushing riskier assets to the market’s periphery. In the past 24 hours alone, the net inflow into spot BTC ETFs has surpassed $381 million.
Analysts’ Forecasts and Debates
Altcoin analyst Gordon believes that technical indicators point to an imminent altseason and a broad bull market. His view is supported by former NBA player (and crypto enthusiast) Scottie Pippen, who stated that the biggest altseason already began on April 20 — exactly 340 days after the halving, matching the timing of rallies in 2017 and 2021. Pippen claims that some altcoins could increase in value by up to 175 times.
A contrary opinion comes from analyst Ali Martinez, who doubts the potential for a repeat of previous cycles due to market oversaturation. Today, there are over 36.4 million altcoins, compared to fewer than 3,000 in 2017–2018. According to Martinez, the oversupply has stripped tech tokens of their speculative appeal.
Despite differing views, activity in the DeFi, memecoin, and onchain application sectors continues to rise. Capital rotation from Bitcoin into riskier assets could shift the balance of power in the market. For now, all eyes are on the coming weeks — they will reveal whether an altseason can truly begin.
This post is for informational purposes only and is not an ad or investment advice. Please do your own research making any decisions.
