Altcoins captured more than 50% of total cryptocurrency trading volume as of January 10, surpassing Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum's (ETH) combined 50% share.

Bitcoin accounts for 27% of trading activity while Ethereum represents 23%.

The shift marks the first time alternative cryptocurrencies have dominated trading flow in months.

What Happened

Capital rotation accelerated as Bitcoin consolidated in the $89,000-$94,000 range.

Traders pursued higher-beta tokens including Polygon, up 52% weekly following its Open Money Stack launch.

Solana (SOL) memecoins attracted speculative interest with BONK up 28%.

BNB rose 3.4% over seven days amid Binance's Asia expansion.

Bitcoin dominance remains at 58.51% by market capitalization.

The Altcoin Season Index climbed from December lows.

Ethereum maintained $15.2 billion daily volume but faced $93.82 million in ETF withdrawals January 9.

Read also: BNY Launches Tokenized Deposits As Banks Race Toward 24/7 Markets

Why It Matters

Volume shifts typically precede capital rotation phases in crypto cycles.

Historical patterns show altcoins gaining trading dominance during Bitcoin consolidation periods.

Ethereum's liquidity anchors altcoin markets but declining ETF flows signal profit-taking.

The trading volume divergence from market cap dominance suggests short-term speculation rather than fundamental shifts.

Institutional flows remain concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum through regulated products.

Volume concentration in DeFi aggregators, memecoins, and infrastructure tokens reflects sector-specific narratives.

Whether current patterns signal sustained altseason depends on Bitcoin breaking from its range.

Read next: OKX Slashes Institutional Sales Team As Exchange Reorganizes Globally