Altcoin Season Heats Up as Coins Rise, USDT Dominates

Altcoins are rising in value on the crypto market recently, indicating that the infamous “altcoin season” is finally heating up. Assets like Ethereum, Solana, and XRP are up in the past week, with trading volume around the crypto market also up. With Bitcoin reclaiming $104,000 and recent triple-digit returns from altcoins, the season has begun after a long wait.This week, the market cap of Tether (USDT) eclipsed $150 billion for the first time. USDt’s circulating supply has expanded by over 36% in the past year alone, and is a sign that there is growing momentum in the digital asset sector. Meme coins are also booming, especially via the Solana Network. Coins like Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe coin (PEPE) are all up by double digits in the last seven days as well.Technical charts and market sentiment align to suggest that this May will start a broader altcoin rally, driven by key indicators and shifting capital flows. The TOTAL2 chart, representing the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies, excluding Bitcoin, has broken above a downtrend line in place since January 2025. This breakout is accompanied by a bullish break of structure (BOS) on the daily charts, forming higher-low patterns. A decisive move above the $1.25 trillion resistance level could support a decisive uptrend, and investors moving from BTC to altcoins and meme coins. The Moo Deng meme coin (MOODENG), a Solana meme coin, is up as much as 750% in the past week, while popular coin DogWifHat (WIF) is also up over 100%. These gains are expected to continue through June with the altcoin season finally underway.