“Now is the clearest bull setup in my seven years in crypto,” trader and angel investor “cyclop” told their 578,000 X followers on May 15.

The trader identified four factors that were in alignment: Bitcoin near its all-time high, retail interest near an all-time low, the ETH/BTC ratio breaking a three-year downtrend, and the altcoin index bouncing off a range low.

“Each factor sparked altseason before,” they said before adding that “Now they ALL align.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I genuinely think we’re finally at the start of altseason,” the trader exclaimed.

Now is the clearest bull setup in my 7 years in crypto:

BTC near ATH

Retail interest near ATL

ETH/BTC broke 3y downtrend

Alt index bounced off range low

EACH factor sparked altszn before. Now they ALL align.

: Is this the start of next altszn? pic.twitter.com/oessjZXMy4

Altseason Yet?

Firstly, the narrative around Bitcoin has changed, and it is no longer seen as speculative but as a macro hedge and store of value, backed by institutions and stock markets, and a geopolitical asset for countries facing inflation.

Altcoins, especially major layer-1s like Ethereum and Solana, are now viewed as technology platforms, and not “Bitcoin alternatives.”

Add to those two narratives an increase in global liquidity, expanding stablecoin supply, altseason index showing bullish divergence, and retail index near bottom — all of which have historically preceded major altcoin runs.

According to CoinMarketCap’s Altseason Index, it is still Bitcoin season with a rating of 26. However, it has bounced off a low of 15 earlier this month when Ethereum started to move.

CryptoRank’s Altcoin Index shows a similar pattern, with it moving from mid-teens to 27 at the time of writing.

Additionally, the ETH/BTC ratio, which is a measure of Ether prices in terms of Bitcoin, has bounced off a 5-year low of 0.018 to 0.025 over the past couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin dominance has fallen from a 4-year high of 65.4% to 62% in the past week, according to Tradingview.

Altcoin Golden Cross

On May 14, Web3 growth manager Cas Abbé observed the confirmation of an altcoin market capitalization daily golden cross. It happened last time in October 2024, which led to a mini altseason, he added, before cautioning that there could be more sideways action before any major upward momentum.

Altcoin MCap daily golden cross has now been confirmed ✅

It happened last time in October 2024, which led to a mini Altseason.

But no mistake, a golden cross doesnt immediately start a rally.

In 2024, Alts went sideways for 3-4 weeks before going on a parabolic run.… pic.twitter.com/O4Hv6TOmqk

Meanwhile, analyst ‘Ash Crypto’ told his 1.8 million X followers that altseason was coming after observing Ethereum gaining 30% over the past week while Bitcoin has made less than 3%.

Crypto markets have cooled a little over the past 24 hours, and altcoins are generally mixed. Those still in the green on Friday morning include Binance Coin, Tron, Sui, and Hyperliquid.