Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below $62,000 on June 4, a decline that coincided with the first meaningful pullback in Bitcoin dominance in nearly eight months, according to analyst CrediBULL Crypto. The drop has renewed discussion among market observers about the potential for an altcoin-led phase, as many alternative tokens have shown relative resilience during BTC’s slide—a pattern that has previously surfaced near key turning points in crypto cycles.
What the Charts Are Showing
CrediBULL notes that during the 2017 cycle, the major altcoin rally only began after Bitcoin had plunged roughly 50% from its peak, found a footing, and then embarked on a recovery. At that stage, the altcoin market capitalization tripled from its lows and pushed several tokens to new all-time highs. The analyst suggests a comparable setup could be forming now: Bitcoin is trading more than 50% below its all-time high set in October 2025, while many altcoins have not collapsed in the way they did during past bear markets.
“Many are noticing the relative strength in alts at these levels as BTC melts but many alts hold relatively ‘steady,’ sending BTC dominance down in the first significant pullback on BTC dom that we have had in nearly 8 months,” the analyst wrote.
In a follow-up comment, CrediBULL proposed the possibility of a sequence of “mini altseasons” that could occur ahead of a larger altcoin cycle—one that might follow a yet-to-arrive Bitcoin blow-off top.
Another analyst, Sykodelic, echoed a similar view earlier in the week, describing the market as “exhausted” and noting that altcoins are “no longer responding to weakness.” Sykodelic pointed to the OTHERS.D chart closing above its 200-day moving average, a technical development that has previously coincided with outsized moves in smaller tokens.
By contrast, Daan Crypto Trades offered a more cautious assessment. He pointed out that the total altcoin market cap excluding stablecoins has been range-bound for over two years, and recent gains that many cite have largely been driven by a relatively small number of tokens.
“For this to properly bounce, you’d need more life out of the likes of ETH and other majors,” he stated.
Ethereum (ETH) itself briefly tested a 14-month low near $1,700, and several other top-10 tokens fell between 4% and 8% over the last 24 hours. Looking at performance over seven days, only Hyperliquid’s HYPE token stood out with gains above 18%, while most other large-cap cryptocurrencies experienced notable weakness.
What of Bitcoin?
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was down nearly 7% on the day and more than 13% for the week, trading roughly $500 below $63,000 after earlier dipping to approximately $61,000—a four-month low. The rapid move wiped out positions for over 270,000 leveraged traders within 24 hours, generating more than $1.6 billion in liquidations, most of which were long trades.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have not been immune to the market turbulence either. Data from SoSoValue shows ETFs recorded about $1.4 billion in outflows in the first three days of June, underscoring the broad-based pressure across both spot and derivatives markets.
Overall, the market is signaling a divergence: Bitcoin weakness has coincided with pockets of resilience among certain altcoins, but broad-based confirmation of an altcoin-led cycle would likely require stronger participation from major tokens such as Ethereum and other large-cap projects. Until then, analysts remain divided between cautious skepticism and guarded optimism over whether current strength in select altcoins can evolve into a sustained trend.