In the altcoin market, the effectiveness of long-term holding is weakening, and a structure in which liquidity and market attention determine returns is becoming clearer. The “altseason” in which the broader market rises together is losing force, while a trend of funds concentrating on only some new assets is strengthening.

On April 27 (local time), blockchain outlet Cryptopolitan reported that even in the recent bull market, a traditional rally in which the broader altcoin market rises together did not appear. Instead, funds flowed into newly issued assets and some projects, sustaining a selective rise.

A shift is also confirmed in on-chain data analysis. According to CryptoQuant analysis, as of 2026 the past altcoin market overall remains in loss territory. Some assets set new all-time highs, but many coins and tokens failed to regain trading activity and market attention. It is also assessed that investors have become more conservative than before.

New supply, meanwhile, continues to increase. Meme tokens, publicly sold allocations and projects backed by venture capital have entered the market one after another, and exchange listings have expanded. But the increase in supply did not translate into a broader market rise. Long-term holding failed to deliver results for any type of altcoin except in very limited cases, and the market reacted more sensitively to capturing short-term liquidity.

The way prices are determined has also changed. In the past, fundamentals such as technological capabilities or infrastructure building were key variables. Now, market attention and the ability to maintain liquidity are having a bigger impact. Newly emerging assets are competing to secure investor attention and prevent fund outflows.

In this process, Binance’s influence stood out. New token sales through Binance Wallet posted high returns, and altcoins listed in 2025 showed relatively strong gains. Concentrated liquidity, market makers and a selective listing structure were analysed as factors behind performance gaps.

The performance gap was also clear. Existing groups of altcoins recorded average losses of 18 to 23 percent, while newly listed assets in 2025 maintained net gains of about 5 percent. Over the past 90 days, Binance-listed altcoins rose an average 6.58 percent, while Coinbase-listed assets fell an average 16.8 percent and Deribit-traded items fell by an average of more than 40 percent.

As a result, investment strategies are also changing quickly. Market participants are showing a tendency to pick assets based on liquidity, social media buzz and signals of capital inflows from large investors. The phenomenon of performance splitting depending on each exchange’s listing policies and liquidity structures has also deepened.

As a result, the meaning of an altseason itself is changing. Rather than a phase in which the whole market rises together as in the past, it is being analysed as a reshaped structure in which limited gains centred on some new assets with concentrated liquidity are repeated.

Looking ahead, key points to watch are how much more selectively funds will move as new token supply continues, and whether major exchanges’ listing and liquidity management functions will continue to determine market performance. It has been raised as a possibility that the shift in the altcoin market from a focus on “holding” to a focus on “selection and liquidity” may continue for some time.