Arthur Hayes: The Altcoin Season Continues, but It's No Longer Recognizable
Date: 2025-12-22 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS
While a significant portion of the crypto community continues to wait for the "official" start of the new altcoin season, Arthur Hayes is confident that this market phase has been underway for a while, but many haven't noticed. According to the BitMEX co-founder, the problem isn't the lack of growth, but the outdated mindset of traders who focus on past cycles and familiar assets.
Speaking on a YouTube podcast, Hayes stated that the altcoin season isn't a one-off event tied to a specific timeframe. It occurs constantly, but each time it takes a different form. The feeling of its "absence," according to the entrepreneur, arises among those market participants who don't own assets that are showing real growth in the current cycle.
Hayes emphasized that many investors are still expecting a repeat of familiar scenarios: massive growth in the same tokens, similar dynamics, and predictable phases. This approach, he believes, creates a false sense of security but hinders timely adaptation to new conditions. The market is no longer obligated to follow old patterns, and betting on assets that have already shown strong growth may prove to be a misguided strategy.
According to the entrepreneur, the key to success today is finding new narratives and projects, rather than blindly copying past experiences. He urged traders to reconsider their expectations and abandon the idea that the altcoin season must look the same as it did a few years ago. "There was an altcoin season. You just weren't part of it," Hayes noted, commenting on the current market phase.
He cited Hyperliquid as a clear example. According to Hayes, the project launched in the $2-3 range, after which its price rose to approximately $60. He called this growth one of the most striking and revealing stories of the current crypto cycle, demonstrating that significant opportunities still exist—but not always where we typically look.
Solana is another example. Hayes recalled that in 2022, the asset fell to almost $7, while at the beginning of this year, its value rose to almost $300. This case, in his opinion, also confirms the thesis that altcoins continue to demonstrate strong momentum, despite skepticism from some in the market.
At the same time, there is no consensus in the industry regarding the further development of the altcoin market. CoinQuant CEO Maen Ftui previously noted that a significant portion of capital could be concentrated in older assets, especially those around which ETFs are forming. Bitfinex analysts, meanwhile, believe that without the launch of an ETF outside the major cryptocurrencies, it is premature to expect a large-scale rally in altcoins. Bloomberg Intelligence expert James Seyffarth shares a similar position, stating that the approval of an altcoin ETF alone will not trigger a full-fledged alt season.
