Bitcoin Decouples from Altcoins as Exchange Chief Predicts No Broad Market Rally
A senior executive at Bitget has publicly dismissed expectations for a traditional altcoin season in the current market cycle. According to Cointelegraph, Vugar Usi Zade, Chief Operating Officer at the global exchange, stated there is no logical foundation for widespread altcoin gains during a Token2049 conference presentation in Singapore. The executive argued that the absence of technological advancements or project development fails to justify broad price increases across alternative cryptocurrencies.
Usi Zade explained that Bitcoin now operates independently from the broader cryptocurrency market. He noted that Bitcoin rallies no longer drive capital into alternative tokens as they did in previous cycles. The exchange executive observed multiple instances where Bitcoin posted gains while the entire altcoin market declined. He stated Bitcoin has decoupled not only from traditional stock markets but also from alternative cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin currently maintains 58 percent market dominance compared to 12 percent for Ethereum, according to data from the main news source. The premier cryptocurrency reached dominance levels as high as 65 percent over the past twelve months. Market observers note this represents a concentration of capital in Bitcoin rather than distribution across the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Market Structure Changes Require Different Investment Approaches
The shift away from coordinated market movements creates challenges for cryptocurrency projects seeking long-term sustainability. Usi Zade explained that crypto investors operate on short time horizons, expecting projects to become profitable within months rather than years. He compared this unfavorably to traditional technology companies like Amazon, which required over a decade to achieve profitability. This shortened timeline makes it difficult for blockchain projects to develop sustainable business models.
The immediate availability of tokens to retail investors differs from traditional venture capital models. In conventional markets, early investors typically sell to other institutional firms, maintaining capital stability for growing companies. Cryptocurrency projects instead face immediate retail trading pressure that can drive token prices to near-zero levels. According to the Bitget executive, once a token price collapses, recovery becomes nearly impossible regardless of underlying project quality.
We previously reported that Bitcoin achieved historic milestones in Q2 2025 with minimal mainstream media coverage, demonstrating institutional adoption proceeding independently of traditional attention cycles. Bitcoin ETFs accumulated over $65 billion in assets under management by April 2025, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust alone attracting over $18 billion.
Narrative-Driven Cycles Replace Broad Market Movements
The cryptocurrency market now operates through shorter, more frequent cycles based on specific narratives rather than coordinated seasons. Usi Zade suggested that future rallies will target tokens within trending sectors rather than lifting all alternative cryptocurrencies simultaneously. He cited real-world assets as one potential narrative that could drive gains for related tokens without extending to the broader market.
However, market data from CCN presents a contrasting perspective. In August 2025, Bitcoin dominance declined to 59 percent from 65 percent, with the altcoin market cap reaching $1.7 trillion. Technical indicators showed the Moving Average Convergence Divergence forming a bullish crossover on the TOTAL2 chart, suggesting momentum favored alternative cryptocurrencies. The Altcoin Season Index reached 82, indicating that altcoins were outperforming Bitcoin across major market segments.
Investment recommendations have shifted away from traditional portfolio allocations. According to Cointelegraph, the standard advice of 70 percent Bitcoin and 30 percent Ethereum allocation has given way to Bitcoin-only recommendations. Usi Zade noted that Ethereum's price stability compared to Bitcoin's continued rally toward new highs leaves investors with limited motivation to purchase ETH. The altcoin market cap reached $1.63 trillion in September 2025, nearing its all-time high, while trading volume on Binance Futures hit $100.7 billion daily in July 2025.
The divergence between Bitcoin-focused strategies and broader altcoin performance reflects fundamental changes in cryptocurrency market structure. Whether narrative-driven cycles or traditional altcoin seasons prevail will depend on capital flows, technological development, and macroeconomic conditions in coming quarters.
