Retail merchants spooked by the huge crypto liquidation occasion in October fled again to main cryptocurrencies as their hopes for an altcoin season had been dashed, in accordance with Wintermute.
Since round 2022, retail merchants have been internet sellers of majors resembling Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), preferring altcoins as a substitute, however that sample broke in 2025, in accordance with Wintermute’s “Digital asset OTC market 2025” report launched on Tuesday.
The October 10 liquidation occasion and market crash “marked a transparent inflection level,” accelerating retail’s rotation again into Bitcoin and Ether, the agency stated.
Knowledge reveals that retail buyers had been actively decreasing publicity to the majors on the time, however shortly pivoted again into them after the report leverage flush.
“This reveals the quick defensive posture following the liquidation shock and rising considerations of contagion and an imminent bear market.”
Wintermute reported that by the top of the yr, retail positioning had converged with institutional, “prioritizing liquidity and resilience over peripheral danger.”
Altcoin rallies lacked conviction
The transfer again into majors prevented any altcoin season this cycle, and altcoins “materially underperformed” in 2025.
“Narratives continued to emerge, however didn’t persist,” the report said.
The typical altcoin rally lasted roughly 19 days in 2025, down from round 60 days the yr earlier than, “reflecting decreased conviction and extra tactical risk-taking,” Wintermute added.
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This doesn’t imply that there was an absence of narratives, however a market “exhibiting clear indicators of exhaustion,” the place rallies shortly light.
From 2022 to 2024, altcoin rallies sometimes lasted from 45 to 60 days with sustained narratives together with memecoins and AI. Nonetheless, the median size of altcoin rallies in 2025 was simply 20 days.
“This led to altcoin rallies feeling like tactical trades relatively than excessive conviction tendencies.”
October crash fears are subsiding
Whereas altcoins have but to see any actual momentum going into 2026, fears and panic over the October crash have subsided, resulting in renewed confidence going ahead.
Earlier this month, Bitwise chief funding officer Matt Hougan stated, “One of many causes I believe we’ve rallied to begin this yr is that buyers have put October 10 within the rearview.”
Complete market capitalization is at its highest stage to date this yr, following a ten%, or $300 billion, achieve since Jan. 1 to succeed in $3.34 trillion on Wednesday, in accordance with CoinGecko.
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