Early signs of a rebound in the altcoin market have revived talk of a possible altcoin season in 2026, DigitalToday reporter Yeseul Kim (김예슬) wrote.

Cointelegraph reported on May 14 that altcoin performance and trading volume on Binance, the altcoin season index and market-cap measures for cryptocurrencies excluding bitcoin improved at the same time.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost (다크포스트) said altcoins have corrected by more than 50 percent due to macroeconomic uncertainty surrounding the United States and the impact of the Israel-Iran war. Still, the share of altcoins traded on Binance that are above their 200-day moving average rose to 21 percent, the highest since September 2025. Darkfost said this suggests investor interest in altcoins is gradually returning.

Some assessments said it is still too early to call it an altcoin season. Most altcoins traded 60 to 80 percent above their 200-day moving average in mid-2025 and the fourth quarter of 2024, but current levels fall short of that.

Altcoin trading volume on centralised exchanges also increased. CryptoOnchain said altcoin volume excluding the top five cryptocurrencies by market value has steadily risen over the past few weeks. It said altcoin volume showed an uptrend as the 30-day moving-average volume moved above the 365-day moving average, and that this signal typically appears when funds move from large cryptocurrencies to small and mid-cap altcoins.

The 90-day altcoin season index rose to 28.6, its highest level in recent months. The reading means 28.6 percent of the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market value outperformed bitcoin over the past 90 days. BlockchainCenter considers it an altcoin season when the figure exceeds 75 percent. Bitcoin gained 17 percent over the past three months, while Zcash rose 98 percent, Bittensor 72 percent and Morpho 68 percent.

Market-cap indicators also offered bullish signals. TradingView data showed TOTAL2 rebounded from the lower trend line of an expanding wedge that has persisted since mid-2022. CryptoCurb said TOTAL2 could follow a breakout pattern similar to 2021 and mentioned the possibility of a rise to $8 trillion. Nebraskangunner said TOTAL2 broke above the top of an ascending triangle on the daily chart.

Bitcoin dominance continues. The bitcoin dominance index climbed to its highest level since November 2025 and has been rising since 2023. GorkemCrypto said bitcoin dominance could fall to 40 percent if funds move into altcoins, but current market moves still favour bitcoin.