According to the latest data, Glassnode's altcoin?cycle indicator has switched from Bitcoin Season to Altcoin Season, and the firm estimates that the current rise now covers a broader set of assets rather than Bitcoin alone. This is a markedly different picture from the August rally, when Bitcoin rose almost alone, and altcoins remained largely flat. This time market participation is noticeably wider.

Bitcoin is trading around $86,000 after intraday highs above $87,300 the previous day, recovering almost the entire mid?September drop when the price fell to $75,000–76,000 amid the Clarity Act vote failure in the US Senate. Bitcoin dominance remains about 59%, showing that capital is still concentrated primarily in the leading crypto despite the signal flip — it has not flowed into altcoins in volumes large enough to materially reduce BTC's share of the market cap. Ethereum is trading near $2,730, and among other large altcoins, XRP stands out with a roughly 6% gain and Solana with about a 4.5% rise.

The causal link is important for correctly interpreting the signal: Glassnode's indicator measures the relative performance of the top?250 altcoins versus Bitcoin, and its switch to altseason does not always indicate a genuine inflow of new capital into altcoins — historically, such shifts often occurred simply because Bitcoin fell sharply, not because altcoins were strong. Now the situation looks different: Bitcoin is not falling and is making local highs itself, and it is the simultaneous rise across a broad range of assets — not relative BTC weakness — that caused the signal flip, making this instance a more convincing confirmation of capital rotation than previous indicator triggers this year.

I believe confirmation of a true altseason will be the signal's persistence amid a possible stabilization or pause in Bitcoin's ascent expected soon — that scenario, rather than a continued sync rally of all assets at once, is traditionally considered the classic sign of healthy capital rotation within the market.

Bitcoin technicals The price is holding in the $84,900–87,200 range, and the trading plan is built around two mirrored directions with full breakout and rejection scenarios. A breakout above $86,300 triggers a buy targeting $87,200, where profits should be taken and a reversal into short considered on a potential pullback. Mandatory entry conditions: price must remain above the 50?day moving average, and the Awesome Oscillator must be in positive territory. The second buy setup is a bounce play if price approaches the lower band at $85,700, but a downside breakout is not confirmed — this should be treated as a false move and a long opened with targets first at $86,300 and then $87,200 as a wider technical target should the rally extend beyond the near range.

Shorts are structured symmetrically. A confirmed break below $85,700 leads to a short targeting $84,900, with mirror conditions: the moving average above price and the Awesome below zero. The second short works from a rejection at $86,300 if an upward breakout fails to confirm, opening a path to $85,700 and then $84,900.

Ethereum technicals Ethereum is trading in the $2,696–2,781 range, and the logic mirrors Bitcoin's on its own price scale. A breakout above $2,748 signals a buy targeting $2,781 under the same conditions: the rising moving average beneath price and Awesome above zero. The second buy variant is a bounce at $2,730 if a downside breakout is not confirmed, aiming first for $2,748 and then $2,781 as a wider target for continuation.

Sell setups for Ethereum begin with a break below $2,730 targeting $2,696, if the moving average is above price and Awesome is negative. The second sell works from a rejection at $2,748 if an upward breakout fails to confirm, with targets back to $2,730 and then $2,696. Both indicators serve purely as filters to weed out false moves, not as independent reasons to enter early — decisions are taken only after price confirms the specified levels.