Many traders are still scanning the market for a clear signal that “altcoin season” has finally arrived. Arthur Hayes thinks that wait is the problem.
Instead of a single moment when everything lifts together, the former BitMEX chief argues that this cycle has been defined by fragmentation. In his view, capital has already rotated aggressively – just not into the same assets people expected.
Key Takeaways
Arthur Hayes argues that altcoin season is already happening, just not in the broad, market-wide way traders expect.
This cycle is rewarding selective narratives and new assets rather than repeating past winners.
The industry remains divided, with some expecting ETFs and traditional capital rotation to define the next phase.
During a recent podcast appearance, Arthur Hayes dismissed the idea that altcoin season is something that suddenly turns on. He suggested that rallies are always happening somewhere in the market, but many traders miss them because they are anchored to outdated playbooks.
According to Hayes, disappointment often comes from holding the wrong assets, not from poor timing. When traders expect the same tokens to repeat past performance, they overlook where capital is actually flowing.
Why This Cycle Looks Nothing Like the Last One
Hayes believes many market participants are trying to relive earlier bull markets, assuming history will rhyme too closely. That mindset, he warned, can be dangerous. Crypto evolves quickly, and narratives that dominated one cycle rarely lead the next.
Rather than broad sector-wide pumps, this market has rewarded select stories with strong momentum. Hayes’ message was simple: stop buying what worked before just because it feels familiar.
Winners Exist – Just Not Everywhere
To support his point, Hayes highlighted examples where traders willing to adapt were rewarded. One was Hyperliquid, which he described as one of the standout performers of the current cycle after launching at low prices and climbing sharply.
He also pointed to Solana, which collapsed during the 2022 downturn before staging a powerful recovery earlier this year. For Hayes, these moves are evidence that altcoin season already played out – selectively, not universally.
His conclusion was blunt: if you feel like nothing happened, you were probably positioned elsewhere.
The Industry Isn’t on the Same Page
Not everyone agrees with Hayes’ interpretation. Some analysts argue that the real altcoin season has yet to begin and will only emerge once capital rotates through more traditional stages.
Maen Ftoui, for example, has suggested that capital may favor older cryptocurrencies tied to ETF products or those expected to receive ETF approval. From that angle, institutional access – not novelty – will decide the next wave.
Others still believe in the classic rotation model, where Bitcoin leads, followed by Ethereum, before smaller altcoins see meaningful inflows.
ETFs and Structure May Shape What Comes Next
Analysts at Bitfinex have added another wrinkle, arguing that a broad altcoin rally may remain limited until ETFs expand beyond the largest assets. Without that gateway, they expect capital to stay concentrated rather than spill across the market.
Taken together, the debate reveals how much crypto market structure has changed. Instead of one explosive altcoin season, performance is increasingly uneven and narrative-driven. Hayes’ core argument challenges traders to adapt to that reality – because waiting for the market to behave like it used to may mean missing what it has already done.
