Several top altcoins have tumbled this week, which triggered a liquidation of leveraged bets.
Despite the setback, data suggests that the long-awaited altseason could be underway, as Blockchaincenter’s Altcoin Season Index hit a perfect 100 on September 20th.
Q4 Crypto Rally Incoming
According to CryptoQuant, Binance Coin (BNB) appears to be leading the charge after recently surging to its $1,000 target price, entering price discovery territory, while a new Hyperliquid competitor, Aster (ASTER), backed by Changpeng Zhao (CZ), has soared an impressive 300% since September 19th.
Aster, focused on decentralized finance (DeFi), aims to deliver fast, secure, and low-cost transactions on its own blockchain while emphasizing interoperability and scalability across networks. The rapid appreciation of these tokens pointed to an investor appetite for high-beta assets, as traders seek opportunities beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
CryptoQuant also found that exchange reserves are reaching record highs and are providing a strong foundation for continued altcoin rallies.
Binance’s ERC-20 stablecoin reserves, for example, have climbed from August’s $32 billion low to $43 billion, a 34% increase, which depicts a notable pool of sidelined liquidity ready to fuel market activity.
This influx of deployable capital could help altcoins maintain momentum through the end of 2025 and into early 2026.
Looking ahead, Q4 is expected to bring even higher volatility and a continued decline in Bitcoin dominance, as Ethereum and other altcoins tend to benefit from seasonal trends.
As per the Energy Value Model (EVM), developed by Charles Edwards of Capriole Investments, Bitcoin’s fair value lies between $145,000 and $168,000. At the current $113,000 price, Bitcoin trades at over a 20% discount to this metric, which further validates the potential for upward pressure.
“After Bitcoin and Ethereum, investors will look for higher beta assets and small-cap tokens, creating a favorable altseason environment.”
BNB Chain Rides ASTER Wave
BNB and ASTER are fueling major activity on BNB Chain, allowing it to surpass Solana in daily fees for three straight days.
The surge is directly linked to Aster DEX. This spike in network usage was indicative of the fact that BNB and ASTER are central to BNB Chain’s growing adoption and have catalyzed fee revenue, DEX activity, and protocol utilization.
Beyond transactions, development activity also surged, as BNB Chain ranked second among blockchain ecosystems for 30-day development events.
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