Altcoin rally momentum weakens as liquidity shifts to BTC, ETH, report finds

The structure of the cryptocurrency market has shifted since last year, with liquidity increasingly concentrating in major assets like BTC and ETH rather than dispersing across the board, according to a report from crypto market-making firm Wintermute cited by The Block. The report suggests this trend is weakening the momentum for altcoin rallies. As evidence, Wintermute noted that the average duration of an altcoin rally last year was 19 days, a sharp decrease from the 61-day average in the prior year. The firm also pointed to the early conclusion of the memecoin cycle at the beginning of this year as a factor that limited the spread of capital. Additionally, the report observed a change in institutional trading strategies, with participants now favoring short-term, news-driven approaches over directional bets and moving away from simpler seasonal trading toward more repetitive and sophisticated methods.