"Altseason," a term familiar to many crypto traders, refers to periods when altcoins significantly outperform major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

In the ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrency, "altseason" represents a pivotal phenomenon where altcoins significantly outperform major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. This article delves into the historical patterns of altseason, exploring its implications for investors and the broader market dynamics. By analyzing previous cycles, we uncover the factors that typically trigger these explosive periods of growth, as well as the current market conditions that may signal the next altseason. Understanding these nuances is essential for both seasoned traders and newcomers seeking to navigate the complexities of crypto investing.

Understanding Altseason: What It Is and Why It Matters

"Altseason," a term familiar to many crypto traders, refers to periods when 

 significantly outperform major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Historically, these phases have been characterized by capital rotation from Bitcoin into smaller, riskier projects, often leading to explosive growth in altcoin prices. This phenomenon has been evident in the past three major bull runs, notably in 2017 and 2021, when altcoins surged in value after Bitcoin reached new all-time highs (ATHs).

Bitcoin’s price movements have been cyclical since its inception in 2009. By analyzing historical price data, we can identify distinct periods of boom, bust and recovery. Notably, the two most recent bull runs have witnessed pronounced altseason events, whereby altcoins recorded extraordinary gains, often multiplying their market caps significantly.

For instance, during previous altseasons, the total market capitalization of altcoins surged between 6x and 7x. This explosive growth not only provided immense profit opportunities for traders, but also underscored the 

 inherent in the cryptocurrency space. However, one must also recognize that altseason often precedes the end of a bull run, as profit taking from large-cap tokens leads to a market correction.

Despite the historical significance of altseason, the current cycle appears markedly different. Bitcoin has continued to reach new highs while maintaining a strong market dominance, contrary to the typical pattern in which 

 declines during altseason. This deviation raises critical questions about the nature of the current market, and whether a traditional altseason is imminent.

The Current Landscape: Indicators and Influences

Several factors contribute to the unique dynamics of the current crypto market. First, it’s informative to underscore the importance of Bitcoin’s halving events, which historically precede significant market capitalization and dominance shifts. In previous cycles, Bitcoin's dominance tended to decline approximately 230 days post-halving, leading to a capital rotation into altcoins. However, the recent halving in April 2024 didn’t trigger the expected decline in Bitcoin dominance, suggesting a potential structural change in market behavior.

Moreover, the performance of Ethereum (ETH) relative to Bitcoin has also shifted. Historically, Ethereum served as a primary beneficiary during altseason, often experiencing substantial gains as traders rotated out of Bitcoin. However, since 2022, Ethereum has underperformed not only Bitcoin but also several competing "Ethereum Killers," such as Solana (SOL) and Sui (SUI. This relative underperformance has raised doubts about Ethereum's capacity to lead the market into a new altseason.

 has further complicated the landscape. While the introduction of these ETFs has driven Bitcoin’s price to new heights, it’s also resulted in a capital flow that remains largely focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Many institutional investors appear hesitant to rotate their capital into smaller, more speculative altcoins, opting instead to remain in regulated ETF products.

Last but not least, there’s been a significant increase in 

 supply, which has risen by 66% since the start of 2024. This indicates that while institutional activity may explain some market movements, retail engagement remains robust. 

 (CEXs) recorded their largest trade volumes in Q4 2024, suggesting that retail traders are actively participating in the market, potentially looking for altcoin opportunities as liquidity increases.

What Lies Ahead: Potential Scenarios for Altseason

Given the current market dynamics, traders are left to ponder whether an altseason is on the horizon and what form it might take. The accompanying report presents several scenarios that could influence the emergence and nature of the next altseason:

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Bybit x Block Scholes Institution Report: Altcoin Rotation — Why Altseason Hasn’t Come This Time?

Feb 10, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

 explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly Highlight — Mixed Job Reports Rattle Market

The recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report indicates that U.S. job growth is slowing, yet remains healthy. Nonfarm payrolls grew by 143,000 last month, with upward revisions for November and December 2024, as they added 100,000 jobs. The unemployment rate has dipped to 4.0%, demonstrating a robust labor market, although the annual revisions suggest job gains were softer than initially reported, averaging 166,000 per month in 2024.

Simultaneously, inflation expectations are rising, driven partly by tariffs proposed by U.S. president Trump. Data from the University of Michigan reveals consumers anticipate price increases, which may complicate the Federal Reserve's decision-making. Fed officials have indicated they aren’t in a rush to lower interest rates further after a series of cuts last year, suggesting they prefer to observe how the economy reacts to potential policy changes.

The job growth in January 2025 was primarily concentrated in health care, retail and government sectors, while mining and manufacturing faced declines. Severe weather conditions contributed to nearly 600,000 people missing work, the highest impact in four years.

Despite these fluctuations, hourly wages increased by 0.5% month-over-month and 4.1% year-over-year, reflecting pressure on wages amid labor market tightness. The participation rate in the labor force stands at 62.6%, with notable contributions from foreign-born workers, highlighting immigration as a critical factor in employment growth.

As the Fed assesses the stability of the labor market, upcoming directives from the Trump administration, including potential immigration restrictions, could impact future job growth and economic conditions. While the landscape shows signs of moderation, it remains resilient, with cautious optimism surrounding economic stability.

Weekly Crypto Highlight — Crypto IPOs Coming

As reported, Gemini, the cryptocurrency firm founded by the Winklevoss twins, is potentially exploring an 

 (IPO) this year. The company is currently discussing the listing with potential advisers, although no final decisions have yet been made.

Bullish Global, a crypto exchange operator whose backers include billionaire Peter Thiel, is considering an IPO as soon as this year.

The interest in going public comes amid a surge of crypto firms accelerating their IPO plans since President Trump's election, as he has shown support for the industry. The Winklevoss twins, known for their legal battles with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, previously donated Bitcoin exceeding the campaign contribution limit to Trump, later receiving a refund for the excess.

Gemini employs over 500 people across several global locations, including New York, Seattle and London. Recently, the firm agreed to pay $5 million to settle a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) lawsuit alleging it misled regulators while trying to launch the first U.S.-regulated Bitcoin futures contract. Additionally, Gemini has committed to returning at least $1.1 billion to customers affected by the Genesis Global Capital bankruptcy as part of a settlement with New York regulators relating to its Gemini Earn program.

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Mixed U.S. Job Reports; Crypto IPOs Coming

VeChain Thor Energy (VTHO) is used for gas to execute transactions on the VeChain network. Learn more about how VeThor works and how to trade VTHO on Bybit now!

VeChain, which began as a supply chain blockchain platform, has grown into a Layer 1 (L1) blockchain with a wide range of applications. It stands apart from most blockchains by employing a dual token model, rather than relying on a single native token. In this article, we look at the VeChain Thor Energy (VTHO) token, mainly used for gas in the VeChain ecosystem.

The VeChain token (VET) is used to transfer value across networks. Meanwhile, VeChain Thor Energy (VTHO) is used for 

 to execute transactions on the network. On other L1 networks like Ethereum or Solana, the native token is used for both gas and transfer of value. However, VeChain decided to split these functionalities into two different tokens. 

VeChain believes this dual-token model allows its network to provide predictable transaction costs over the long term. Because VTHO only works for gas, and not as a value transfer token, its price is less volatile as compared to the VET token. This is crucial for the VeChain network, since it wants to attract large businesses that require stable and predictable operational expenses. Additionally, VTHO is also used to incentivize VET holders, as holding VET generates a steady supply of VTHO rewards over time.

VTHO acts as VeChain’s gas token. In other words, it’s used for the cost of carrying out payment and 

. The token is awarded to those holding VET at a constant rate of 5.10

 per second. For example, if a wallet holds 10,000 VET, it’s likely to generate 4.32 VTHO every 24 hours. 

As a gas token, VTHO doesn’t have a maximum supply. Its generation depends entirely upon the number of VET tokens currently held by other wallets. 

When users want to transact on the VeChainThor network, they need to pay the required gas in VTHO. The cost of a transaction is determined by the amount of gas required for the transaction, multiplied by the gas price in VTHO, which is a constant value equal to 1.10

. For example, if an individual were to carry out a transaction that costs 21,000 in gas, they would need to pay 21,000 × 10

Since the supply of VTHO is unlimited, its tokenomics includes a 

 dynamics in balance. Seventy percent of the VTHO that’s used to pay for gas is destroyed by the network. The remaining 30% is used to reward authority master nodes who execute the transactions. Through this mechanism, VeChain is able to regulate the circulating supply of VTHO and maintain a stable VTHO value for predictable transaction costs.

VeChain can also adjust burn parameters, based on network adoption. The burn rate can be lowered or raised, depending upon the number of transactions taking place on the network. This gives VeChain the ability to stabilize VTHO’s price during either peak or slow demand.

The VTHO token was launched on Jun 30, 2018, along with the VeChain mainnet. VTHO was airdropped to all holders of VET, both on-chain and on 

 (CEXs). Following the launch, the token’s price largely remained stable at between $0.0003 to $0.0006 for over two years. It witnessed a sharp increase during the 2021 bull market, going as high as $0.023, but lost more than 90% of its value in the ensuing bear market.

On Jan 21, 2025, the VTHO token witnessed a sharp increase in price following its listing on the Korean exchange Upbit. Its price surged over 300% and is trading at $0.005 as of Jan 27, 2025. 

VTHO has a total supply of almost 86 billion tokens, and its current market cap hovers around $337 million. The most recent 24-hour trading volume for the token is around $15 million.

Future Developments and New VTHO Tokenomics

 a new tokenomics model that’s aimed at improving VTHO and the VeChain ecosystem. As we discussed above, in the current model VTHO is generated uniformly across wallets holding VET tokens, including exchange wallets. But with the proposed new model, VTHO will no longer be generated at the VET token level. Instead, it will be generated by groups actively supporting the network, such as:

VTHO issuance will also become dynamic, and will be linked with the quantity of VET staked at the given time. These changes are likely to be implemented in Q3 2025, and are part of a larger vision to revamp the entire VeChain network. The exact road map includes two main phases, named Galactica and Hayabusa. 

Galactica is scheduled for Q1–Q2 2025. It will bring a dynamic gas fee model and 

. Hayabusa is scheduled for Q3–Q4 2025, and is set to bring new VTHO tokenomics to the ecosystem. 

VTHO has served its primary purpose of providing a predictable operational cost on the VeChainThor blockchain. With additional features and new tokenomics set to launch in 2025, the VTHO token is set for an eventful year ahead that will change the way the token is generated and distributed. 

Beginner

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VeThor (VTHO): Gas Token for the VeChain Ecosystem

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events and the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume, as well as futures, options and perpetual contracts.

Another week brought another risk-off event in the crypto market, reflecting its correlation with equities. Despite last week's sell-off, BTC outperformed the broader market with a milder decline, evident in its derivatives positioning. Options markets initially priced short-term volatility higher, but the inversion resolved quickly. In contrast, ETH experienced a sharper inversion, with significant spikes in short-term options and realized volatility. A liquidation event led to an estimated $10 billion loss in open interest for perpetual swap contracts, 

. This bearish sentiment was reflected in funding rates, with altcoins showing a more persistent negative trend post-crash as compared to BTC.

Open interest collapsed across major tokens, flipping funding rates negative, except for BTC. ETH's realized volatility surged above 140%, its highest level in over three months, with the implied volatility term structure spiking and remaining inverted days after the crash.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Open Interest Falls During Painful Liquidation Event

Another Monday sell-off occurred alongside a decline in U.S. equities and other risk-on assets due to fears over Trump tariffs, leading to a drop in perpetual swap positioning. Nearly $3.1 billion in open interest was wiped out from the perpetual swap markets of BTC, ETH, XRP and SOL after a late-Friday high. This decline was likely driven by liquidated leveraged positions, as traders missed margin calls during the rapid drop in spot prices. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou estimated that the true notional value of liquidated positions across markets may have ranged from $8 billion to $10 billion. The sell-off also triggered the largest spike in trading volumes in over a month, with $31 billion in perpetual swap contracts traded on Feb 2, 2025 across the four major tokens’ markets.

Altcoin Funding Rates in Negative; BTC Clings to Neutral Rates

A second consecutive Monday-morning sell-off has kept perpetual swap funding rates low and negative, indicating excess demand for leveraged short exposure. This trend likely stems from the liquidation of long positions, due to the sharp correction in spot prices. Notably, altcoins' funding rates have shown more consistency since February 3, 2024, reflecting their steeper declines as compared to BTC’s.

ETH's spot price experienced a deeper correction than BTC’s during Monday's sell-off, dropping below $2.5K. Surprisingly, options market activity remained steady, likely due to fewer at-risk leveraged long positions to liquidate, thus keeping open interest levels firm. However, the spot move caused realized volatility to spike near 140%, with options markets pricing in a significant term structure inversion that has yet to be resolved. ETH's implied volatility is approximately 15 points higher than BTC's at equivalent tenors, indicating that traders expect continued volatility in ETH's spot price.

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Bybit X Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Feb 5, 2025): Record Liquidations Result From Perp; Traders Expect More Volatility in ETH

Altcoins

Crypto

Can you really earn free bitcoin & crypto? We debunk the myth and help you start earning your first crypto quickly and easily. Explore now.

The concept of free cryptocurrency was almost certainly 

, when he offered $100 in bitcoin rewards to every undergraduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While some students held on to this windfall and eventually cashed in, others splurged on sushi at a local restaurant that accepted crypto for purchases.

Today, it’s still possible to get earn free crypto. Like the cashback rewards offered by credit card companies and special offers available from banks, the concept of free cryptocurrency incentivizes people to use blockchain platforms’ products or services. With the dollar cost average of bitcoin currently listed as 

, cashing in on these opportunities can potentially allow you to build a very nice nest egg for emergencies, or as a form of passive income.

Can You Really Earn Cryptocurrencies for Free?

It’s definitely possible to earn free cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, by making a few minor changes in your shopping habits and your overall approach to online activities. Crypto can be a lucrative investment, but it is volatile. While novices may be wary of its utility and value, earning crypto could be a good stepping stone to dipping your toe into a 

 with little to no capital required. Besides, it helps you become crypto-versed and gain confidence over time before diving into crypto trading.

Earning free bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies is widely available to both beginners who are more risk-averse and those well-versed in the crypto field. Some of these methods require a certain amount of effort on your part. Others are automated, requiring no effort to maintain. The following are some of the most practical ways to earn free crypto as a stream of passive income.

 was introduced as a marketing strategy intended to boost the visibility of newly launched digital currencies. It involves small amounts of a new cryptocurrency to be deposited directly into the crypto wallets of active members within the exchange. Crypto airdrops are safe, as they don’t require you to share your private keys, and there are often exchanges that hold accountability for the event. 

, which allows users on the platform to earn free cryptocurrency by fulfilling specific criteria, including a minimum trading amount at a given number of days within the target period. Participants who are confirmed as eligible receive free crypto by having it deposited into their accounts. 

Most cryptocurrency airdrop activities occur during the initial release of a new blockchain project. In some cases, however, companies or platforms may offer a crypto airdrop to promote their exchange and to boost awareness of their services among the blockchain community. A good way to keep track of upcoming cryptocurrency launches is CoinMarketCal’s 

, which features crypto news and regular updates on upcoming projects. 

Another way to earn free cryptocurrency is through crypto exchanges’ referral programs. These referral bonuses may require a specific spending amount by the person referred before the referring individual can earn free cryptocurrency. Coupons and other rewards may also be offered through these referral bonus programs. In most cases, referral bonuses are available for a limited amount of time, and may include added opportunities to earn crypto based on the referred individual’s trading volume. The people whom you refer will be required to use a link provided or a referral code to deposit and trade cryptocurrencies on the trading platform. Ultimately, the more users you refer, the more bonuses you’ll receive.

, for instance, offers up to $500 in reward bonuses for both you and your eligible referrals who use your referral link. If you have a fairly big circle of friends, a referral bonus is an excellent way for you to earn quick rewards and even combine the earnings with staking yields. 

Affiliate programs work similarly to referral bonuses. Rather than referring friends to the crypto platform, however, an affiliate program requires you to have an existing social network or a platform on which you can consistently reach a much larger audience. In essence, you’re endorsing the brand on your social media and blogs by sharing valuable content aligned to the trading platform’s mission and values. In addition, you can earn a commission for each client you direct to the crypto exchange platform.

 requires an application by opinion leaders and content creators before a link is provided for the applicant’s web content and social media sites. This is one of the most lucrative crypto earning programs, as you’ll be rewarded on a commission basis, based on your client’s trading volume. The more your clients trade, the more you’ll earn. The downside is you need to go through a stringent assessment in order to participate in the program and successfully become the exchange’s affiliate.

Staking is a way you can commit crypto assets on behalf of a blockchain platform or network. The parallel here with traditional finance is depositing money in a bank to earn interest. By pledging your cryptocurrency as backing for these platforms, you can earn crypto without monitoring your earnings regularly. The one downside of this strategy to earn free Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies is that you may experience a financial loss if you’ve opted for a fixed staking program. Since crypto is volatile in nature, you may miss the opportunity to unstake your assets quickly enough to avoid crypto market downturns. 

 is a good example of a crypto staking system. By staking tokens to the BIT pool on Bybit, you can earn free BITs that can be used or redeemed on the platform at any time. This can help you to earn crypto even when you’re not actively trading on a crypto exchange.

Learn-and-earn crypto programs are designed to reward you with free crypto simply for reading crypto materials, watching videos and answering questions about the things you’ve learned. While most platforms include some amount of training and educational material about blockchain and digital currencies, only a few offer the opportunity to earn free Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in return for your investment of time.

Mining essentially means you’re using computing power to keep a network secure, and being rewarded for your services in exchange. 

 is one of the oldest methods for earning bitcoins, but it’s far from obsolete. The only problem is that mining tends to be more suitable for participants who are already equipped with crypto knowledge and have the financial capability to invest in the mining hardware that’s required. 

As the Bitcoin network’s hash rate and mining competition have increased, most miners are investing more in custom-made hardware to secure their rewards. You’ll also generally receive bitcoins if you complete a block of verified transactions that are then added to the blockchain. These Bitcoin mining rewards are 

, which will mean a decrease from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC in the next four years. Bitcoin mining is also labor-intensive, and it’s expensive to maintain the hardware.

In most cases, your chances to break even on your expenses with the bitcoin you receive from your mining efforts are relatively low. Mining for lesser-known coins may be more lucrative with the potential rewards, but the risks of coins becoming worthless overnight are high. Thus, many people opt for cloud mining, which uses rented cloud computing power to mine crypto. For example, users can buy hashing power from 

 to get access to ETH mining with minimal entry price.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is a form of 

) developed from the idea of borrowing funds from a lender, using cryptocurrencies as collateral. The concept relies on smart contract execution to allow lenders to lock up crypto funds in a lending pool and earn interest (crypto dividends) for 

. However, there are also programs like Flash Loans that let users borrow without collateral. 

Crypto lending is one of the easiest ways to generate steady passive income with your existing crypto assets, such as stablecoins or bitcoins. For example, you can select P2P lending by depositing 1 BTC in the wallet of a crypto lending platform to earn the weekly or annual interest rate. If the borrower doesn’t repay the loan, the over-collateralized assets from the borrower can be used to cover your losses. 

 is a Layer 2 protocol that runs on top of an existing blockchain (main chain). As a lightning node, you can charge small fees to process the transactions through Lightning’s payment channels. While Bitcoin nodes verify transactions on the blockchain, Lightning nodes only verify transactions that are privately and directly interacting with it in the payment channel. In exchange for your services in processing and verifying transactions, you earn rewards.

The downside is you’ll need an initial investment in hardware and software, and then only you can connect your nodes to payment channels to route payments. Generally, running a Lightning node won’t make you millions of dollars, but it’s a sustainable passive income if the demand for the Lightning Network continues to grow. 

There are certain activities that can put free Bitcoin into your crypto wallet. Some of the most popular ways to earn free Bitcoin include targeted blogging, browsing, playing games and spending money at select online retailers. These methods can help you to earn Bitcoin while doing the things you enjoy.

The advent of distributed ledger technologies has given rise to many types of content platforms. And the best part is some of these blogging platforms reward highly ranked content with free bitcoin that can be cashed out for dollars, or for other cryptocurrencies. If you’re struggling to get your hands on some crypto, blogging is one of the easiest ways to earn free bitcoins.

For example, Steemit rewards its users with native tokens (STEEM) for publishing and curating content. It aims to empower the creation of user-generated content to foster a collaborative and creative community. Since the platform is powered by Steem blockchain and run by the community, content creators are paid based on the upvotes they received from other users. The payout for each blog post is highly dependent on the value of these upvotes.

Typically, the more Steem Power is held in a user’s account, the more impactful the upvotes are, thus, the more crypto you’re going to earn. The rewards are stored on the distributed Steem blockchain, and a user can cash out the collected STEEM to their crypto wallet address. Blogging sites can often be a great starting point for cryptocurrency investors who are reluctant to risk their own money during their initial foray onto crypto platforms.

The idea of getting paid to search is straightforward. A user is paid for searching a query and watching the ads on a specific browser. Just like your everyday search on your preferred search engine, the Brave Browser rewards users who watch the ads with their native token — 

 (BAT). At the same time, if you’re earning extra free crypto tokens whenever a referral signs up for the browser. New users can be awarded $5 in BAT simply for downloading and using the browser for 30 days. Along with the other monthly rewards worth up to 25 to 40 BATs.

Alternatively, you can also join the Brave Rewards Program as a content creator. Your followers can choose to support your creation by rewarding you with BATs as and when they want or automating monthly transfers to support your content.

 have been around for a while but they took off specifically when 

 (NFT) sparks massive interest in the financial industry. In fact, there is news that people in the Philippines are earning NFTs as a source of income during the pandemic. These earned NFT can be bought and sold for a value.

The concept is similar to any game, except the in-game rewards are real. Generally, play-to-earn games incentivize users to collect in-game items and answer quizzes in exchange for crypto rewards. For example, players of 

 allow users to breed, battle and trading digital pets called Axies to earn income through NFTs. Whenever a player completes quests and farm resources, they’ll be rewarded. On the flip side, some of these games do require a decent amount of initial investment. In return, however, they may offer the opportunity to receive free crypto in return for completing in-game tasks.

Earn crypto by spending and receiving cashback

You can earn free cryptocurrency in much the same way you would earn cashback rewards from your credit or debit card issuer. As 

, credit cards that allow users to earn crypto are becoming increasingly popular in the financial marketplace. These credit cards offer a percentage of the purchases made on the cards in the form of free crypto rewards. By choosing to earn crypto for each of your purchases, you can build up a significant amount of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies over time.

The idea of earning free crypto is not to be confused with winning a lottery. It won’t make you a millionaire overnight, but you can make an income out of it with proper strategy and consistency. As the adoption of Bitcoin and blockchain continue to grow, the free crypto you’ve earned might turn out to be worth more ten years from now than you may imagine. 

12 Promising Ways to Earn Free Crypto in 2022

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards