Market tool
Altcoin Season Index
CryptoPulse.media's own calculation: what share of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap are outperforming Bitcoin over the last 30 days. Helps gauge where the market's capital is currently rotating — into Bitcoin, or into altcoins.
Index zones
Bitcoin over the last 30 days: -3.4%. Comparison is based on 100 altcoins.
Leaders and laggards over 30 days
How the index is calculated
We take the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap on CoinGecko, excluding stablecoins (USDT, USDC, DAI, etc. — pegged to $1, so they can't meaningfully out- or under-perform) and wrapped/staked tokens (WBTC, wstETH, and similar — these technically track another asset's price rather than representing an independent market bet).
For each of the remaining ~100 coins, we compare its 30-day return to Bitcoin's return over the same period. The index is the percentage of coins that beat Bitcoin, rounded to a whole number (0–100).
One important difference from CoinMarketCap's index: theirs uses a 90-day window. We use 30 days — CoinGecko returns that figure for the entire top-100 list in a single request, whereas a 90-day history would require a separate API call per coin and would run into free-tier rate limits. This is a deliberate trade-off, not an error: both windows measure the same underlying idea (share of coins ahead of Bitcoin), just over different time horizons.
Why this matters for traders
Market capital concentrates in Bitcoin — often during uncertainty or a broad correction, when investors rotate into the least risky crypto asset.
Investors actively chase returns beyond Bitcoin. Historically, such periods occurred in late 2017 and in 2021, both times near the peak of a market cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Note: The Altcoin Season Index is a supplementary statistical tool, not a trading signal or investment advice. Past price performance does not guarantee future results. CryptoPulse.media does not provide investment recommendations.
Sources
- Market data: CoinGecko API
- Original index concept: BlockchainCenter.net — Altcoin Season Index
- A similar metric (different methodology, 90-day window): CoinMarketCap — Altcoin Season Index