The long-awaited altcoin season is finally here, said CryptoQuant. The altcoin market, led by Ethereum, is heating up, while Bitcoin takes the back seat.

This market shift is evident in charts tracking trends on Ethereum, Bitcoin, and metrics like trading volume and crypto dominance. In addition, these charts show increased participation from certain cohorts of investors as the bull cycle progresses.

Altseason Has Arrived

According to a series of tweets from CryptoQuant, ether (ETH) has surged 170% from its recent lows and now sits approximately 23% from its all-time high of $4,871. Since bitcoin (BTC) broke out above $120,000, altcoins have been on fire too, kickstarting this cycle’s altseason.

Ether started leading the hype after the online games developer, SharpLink, made a bold investment in the cryptocurrency. The company initially bought $156 million worth of ETH. They are now the second-largest corporate holder of ETH, with holdings surpassing $1.3 billion in value (438,190 ETH).

As altcoins steal the spotlight and BTC consolidates under $120,000, Bitcoin dominance is falling. The leading digital network now accounts for roughly 58% of the total market share, down from 61% a few months ago.

Altcoins are seeing heavy trading, with their futures volume spiking to multi-month highs. The futures trading volume for both ETH and altcoins has hit $223.6 billion, a level not seen in five months.

Retail Demand is Back

Furthermore, the entire altcoin sector now accounts for 83% of centralized exchange (CEX) futures activity. Bitcoin, on the other hand, sits at 17%, with its CEX trading volume declining as well.

Interestingly, most futures trading pairs on CEXs have recorded positive returns over the last two weeks. On platforms like Binance, just 23 out of 424 futures pairs have shown negative returns since BTC reached its new high. This indicates that the prices of most altcoins have been climbing for weeks.

One of the most exciting trends in this market shift is the return of retail participation. Retail demand is back and on the rise – BTC transactions under $10,000 have risen by 9.7% in 30 days. CryptoQuant said such signals often precede major BTC and altcoin rallies.

However, it is also worth mentioning that increased retail participation often appears towards the end of bull cycles. So, this may be a sign that the bull market is coming to an end, and investors have a few more months to make the most of the cycle.