Key Insights
- Ethereum dominance drops to 10%, indicating the next altcoin season is not coming soon.
- Crypto Fear & Greed Index is still showing extreme fear at 10, as investors show cautiousness.
- Harvard moves from Bitcoin to Ethereum, suggesting some shifts favoring alts.
Bitfinex exchange shared recent data, suggesting the next altcoin season is yet to show up. Alongside the analysis, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is still showing extreme fear.
Also, a recent crypto move by Harvard points to the emergence of the next altcoin season.
Is Altcoin Season Near?
In its latest X post, Bitfinex noted that the crypto market is deep in a Bitcoin (BTC) dominated phase.
As such, the exchange commented that the much-hyped altcoin season is still missing in action.
Altcoin season in the crypto market refers to a period when cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin outperform Bitcoin in terms of price gains.
This usually happens when capital rotates out of Bitcoin into digital assets like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), or smaller tokens.
According to data released by Bitfinex, BTC dominance is 58%, while ETH is below 10%. Additionally, ETH/BTC is near 0.029, a multi-year low.
In strong altcoin seasons, dominance typically drops below 50% as smaller cryptocurrencies steal market share. Moreover, during Bitcoin season, investors treat BTC as a safe anchor, while altcoins lag behind.
Furthermore, the less than 10% Ethereum dominance shows that even the second-largest coin is not yet seeing meaningful rotation.
Essentially, altcoin season needs ETH to lead first. Since ETH is not leading, the alt-season math does not yet work. Market participants are watching exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows for when this flips.
For now, Bitcoin is still very much in control, but the setup for a major altcoin catch-up, starting with ETH, is building.
Is the Prolonged Crypto Fear a Big Rebound Signal?
In parallel, the Coin Bureau highlighted a prolonged period of intense pessimism in the crypto market.
The Coin Bureau captured the market sentiment as panic selling and bearishness.
Currently, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is at 10, indicating deep, extreme fear territory.
This marks 19 straight days of extreme fear, the longest continuous streak since July 2022.
Extreme fear readings are key indicators for many traders. When sentiment is this washed out, potential bottoms form.
The extreme caution in the market is driven by prolonged volatility in the crypto market. Right now, the Bitcoin price is showing weakness, dropping toward $67,838.
The BTC price declined by 0.8% and 1.6% over the past day and week, respectively. In a similar move, ETH plunged 0.6% over the previous day to $1,965.
Signs of Altcoin Gaining Institutional Favor
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) also commented on discussions about an imminent altcoin season.
CZ shared a playful, skeptical reply about Harvard’s recent move from Bitcoin to Ethereum. In its quarterly filing, Harvard Management Company revealed it rebalanced its crypto ETF exposure in Q4 2025.
The firm reduced its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by about 21%.
At the same time, it initiated a new position in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), acquiring about 3.8 million shares.
This marked Harvard’s first publicly reported Ethereum investment via ETFs.
In the crypto community, a prestigious institution like Harvard dipping into ETH is interpreted as the start of altcoin season. Many believe ETH is about to surge relative to BTC.
Essentially, CZ is saying that since Harvard trimmed BTC to add ETH, it is naturally the next step toward altcoin pumping. His comment is similar to how people overhype every ETF inflow or whale move as a cycle-defining event.
Harvard adding ETH at depressed levels could reflect confidence in the Ethereum future price trajectory. If more institutions follow, it could pressure ETH/BTC higher and chip away at BTC dominance.
The post ‘Altcoin Season is Still Missing in Action’: Bitfinex Shares Key Data appeared first on The Coin Republic.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2026/02/19/altcoin-season-is-still-missing-in-action-bitfinex-shares-key-data/
