With Bitcoin's dominance falling to a 12-day low, Dogecoin and XRP came to the fore among altcoins. In every Bitcoin market cycle, after the price peaks, altcoins typically trend upward and outperform Bitcoin. However, Gerry O'Shea, head of global market analysis at crypto asset manager Hashdex, stated in an interview that while this cycle could repeat itself, it wouldn't be as severe as previous ones. He pointed to structural changes brought to the market by exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and institutional buying in the US as the reason. “There are institutional buyers supporting this process right now,” O’Shea said, adding that volatility in Bitcoin will continue, but this cycle will be very different from previous periods. In the past, altcoin seasons have been driven by speculative investments like NFTs, memecoins, or ICOs. However, O'Shea argued that with regulatory advancements and the passage of stablecoin laws in the US, investors may now be more inclined to gravitate toward projects that offer greater upside. “Smart contract platforms like Ethereum and Solana that provide stablecoin infrastructure are currently showing benefits,” O’Shea said, adding that this was a significant factor in the decline of Bitcoin’s dominance. *This is not investment advice.