Altcoins are not outperforming Bitcoin, according to today's reading of the Altcoin Season Index from CoinMarketCap which stood at 26/100 (Bitcoin Season).
Bitcoin dominance 59.25% (+0.49 points in 24 hours) and the Altcoin Season Index 26/100 (Bitcoin Season) – capital is flowing towards Bitcoin, not towards altcoins.
A major economic shock due to the nomination of the Federal Reserve Chairman → The nomination of Kevin Warsh strengthened the US dollar, causing a historic collapse in precious metal prices and dragging the cryptocurrency market down; with Bitcoin and major altcoins declining together.
Limited rises in meme coins → like 我踏马来了 (+32.83%) and 三维威廉泰尔企鹅 (+117.18%) which saw increases due to their listing on trading platforms and social hype, but these are limited speculative cases and not an indicator of general leadership for alternative currencies.
Detailed analysis
1. Bitcoin dominance and the shift in the alternative currency season index
Bitcoin dominance rose to 59.25% on January 31, an increase of 0.49 percentage points from the previous day, while the alternative currency season index remained at 26/100, confirming that we are in a "Bitcoin season" (CoinMarketCap). This means that Bitcoin's share of the total value of cryptocurrencies is increasing, and the index shows no sustainable shift towards alternative currencies. The trend over 7 days shows stability in dominance and a decrease of 16.13% in the index, confirming that recent market pressures favored Bitcoin's relative safety.
What does this mean? Investors consider Bitcoin a safe haven amid market volatility, and are not shifting funds into higher-risk alternative currencies.
2. The economic shock affects Bitcoin and alternative currencies
On January 30, President Trump nominated hardliner Kevin Warsh to head the Federal Reserve, leading to a historic sell-off in precious metals (gold -12%, silver -36%) and strengthening the US dollar. Cryptocurrencies also declined: Bitcoin dropped to a nine-month low near 82,000 dollars, and major alternative currencies like Ethereum (-11.07% weekly) and XRP (-12% weekly) fell sharply. Bitcoin spot funds saw an outflow of nearly one billion dollars this month, reflecting institutional caution (Cryptonews).
What does this mean? The economic shock has affected all risk assets, preventing any sustainable outperformance of alternative currencies. The stability of gold and dollar indicators should be monitored as a signal for potential improvement in the cryptocurrency market.
3. Limited meme coin frenzy versus weakness in general alternative currencies
While the broader alternative currency market suffered, some meme coins experienced significant rises due to their listing on trading platforms and social hype. The coin 我踏马来了 rose by 32.83% after its perpetual contracts were listed on Binance, and 三维威廉泰尔企鹅 increased by 117.18% due to viral social momentum. However, these rises were limited to small speculative ranges; major categories like the Binance ecosystem and Layer-1 recorded negative returns over 24 hours.
What does this mean? Speculative capital is flowing towards high-risk meme coins, but this does not reflect a healthy shift in the alternative currency market. Without general momentum in sectors, alternative currencies remain under the control of Bitcoin.