Key points:
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Bitcoin is still failing to rechallenge recent all-time highs, leading to doubts over future BTC price strength.
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A deeper rebound could rescue the situation, says analysis, as altcoins steal the limelight.
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XRP now has a larger market cap than McDonald’s.
Bitcoin (BTC) stayed locked below $120,000 at Monday’s Wall Street open as bull market warnings accelerated.
Bitcoin ignites concerns over bull run’s future
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed rangebound BTC price action giving way to surging altcoins.
Among the day’s top performers were Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE), both of which circled 10% gains over 24 hours.
With Bitcoin’s dominance of the total crypto market cap falling, market participants keenly eyed a full-on “altseason.”
Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, was among those stressing capital rotation out of BTC and into altcoins.
“This chart illustrates the rotation from $BTC and Stables into Alts,” he told followers on X.
“If TOTAL3ES continues on this trajectory and takes out the prior high, we could see a $1T market cap on the Top 100 Altcoins (excluding $ETH and Stables.”
Material Indicators nonetheless kept the door open for a BTC price rebound — especially if BTC/USD were to fall further toward a key trend line around $110,000, its prior all-time high.
“Perhaps the only thing that could be healthier for $BTC than consolidating in this range would be a support test to the trend line,” it argued.
“If we’re lucky enough to get that move, it would validate foundational support for the next leg up. It also might trigger a rotation from Alts back into Bitcoin and mark the top of the Alt rally.”
Less optimistic on Bitcoin’s future was popular trader Roman.
Analyzing the weekly chart, Roman warned of “exhaustion” creeping in across price indicators, notably the relative strength index (RSI) and moving average convergence/divergence (MACD).
“Big bear divs on RSI/MACD and fairly concerning low volume at ATHs,” part of an X post on the day read.
“$BTC.D dumping & $alts running which further proves liquidity is rotating – ending the bull run. Buy $alts while you can. $BTC is likely close to over.”
XRP scores with McDonald’s market cap win
Altseason nonetheless continued to take center stage as TradFi markets returned.
Related: ‘Altseason is here’ — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
Among the headlines was news that XRP (XRP) had surpassed the market cap of McDonald’s, building on strength throughout the week prior.
🚨 BREAKING: $XRP surpasses McDonald’s in market cap, becoming more valuable than the global fast-food giant. pic.twitter.com/Uj2e7HdveB
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 21, 2025
“Is altcoin season finally upon us?” trading firm QCP Capital queried in its latest bulletin sent to Telegram channel subscribers.
“With altcoin season indexes crossing above 50 across major sources, the highest since last December, the data certainly suggests so.”
QCP flagged Bitcoin dominance giving way to Ether (ETH) as an important inflection point.
“BTC dominance has slipped from 64% to 60% over the past week as it struggles to reclaim 121k, while ETH’s market share has climbed from 9.7% to 11.6%,” it observed.
“If the trend holds, the next leg of altcoin season may already be in motion.”
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
