The market is painting a confusing image. Today, BTC and ETH have rallied strongly this week and are capturing every news headline this “Uptober”, while tension mounts as the crypto altcoin season index pushes higher, even as BTC USD remains supreme.
The headline numbers are hard to ignore as the BTC USD pair gained sharply, closing at its ATH, while the ETH USD pair followed with conviction, but barely pushed above $4,500. Still, with BTC dominance brushing close to 60 %, the tug‑of‑war between majors and alts remains intense.
Across crypto news today, the dominant narrative is strength in top pairs. As seen in CoinGecko, BTC USD climbed roughly 11-12% over the week, while ETH USD mirrored that momentum with the same gain percentage. These have outpaced many altcoins, which is why the altcoin season index is only gradually rising.
(source – Crypto Gains, CoinGecko)
On the derivatives front, funding rates for both BTC-USD and ETH-USD remain in positive territory, as buying pressure increasing. Liquidations remain relatively muted, well below earlier market extremes, which has lent stability to both pairs. That said, BTC dominance remains around 59-60%, limiting the room for many altcoins to break away.
(source – BTC.D, TradingView)
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Crypto Altcoin Season Index Climbs as News on BTC USD & ETH USD Surge, But BTC Dominance Looms Over Alt Hopes Today
The altcoin season index has inched upward to sit near 65–70 in recent sessions, a perfect sign for alt rotation. Yet even with that rise, today, crypto still points to underlying rigidity as
Bitcoin
1.14%
Bitcoin
BTC
Price
$63,772.03
1.14% /24h
Volume in 24h
$15.91B
Price 7d
Buy with Best Wallet
continues to outperform most rivals, and dominance figures maintain pressure on breakout potential as much as most news saying an alt season is coming.
(source – Altcoin Season Index, Coinglass)
From a liquidity perspective, DefiLlama reports that total value locked (TVL) in DeFi has seen modest growth, led by
Ethereum
1.94%
Ethereum
ETH
Price
$1,732.23
1.94% /24h
Volume in 24h
$4.93B
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and/or EVM chains. Increasing deposits and usage on Ethereum L1/L2 protocols are tilting the balance in favor of its USD dominance in the DeFi narrative. Meanwhile, stablecoin supply caps across the ecosystem have expanded, another sign of the start of altcoin season.
(source – TVL, Defillama)
The altcoin season index is bullish, and derivatives metrics, such as perpetual volume and open interest, are rapidly increasing. Yet so far, structural concentrations (TVL skewed toward ETH ecosystems, BTC’s valuation power) are keeping the alt rally suppressed. The index rise and BTC dominance near 60 % exist side by side, forming the core tension in major crypto news today.
Will altseason start in December ❓
According to optimists on Twitter and the classic "market cycle psychology" chart, December is when the market enters the Thrill phase, and in January comes Euphoria — the peak of altseason and endless multipliers.
The "market cycle… pic.twitter.com/AyxKKoOdZO
— baZOOka (@baZOOka_trading) October 4, 2025
In sum, BTC USD and ETH USD are doing the heavy lifting at this stage, while the altcoin season index points to latent potential. What happens next hinges on dominance trending materially lower and liquidity dispersing more evenly. Markets are poised as alts wait for a run.
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Stimmy Inbound: Will Trump Tariff Dividend Skyrocket Crypto in Q4?
A fresh promise of “tariff dividend” checks is colliding with a near-record Bitcoin, setting up a Q4 test of how fiscal headlines move crypto.
According to Reuters, the White House is considering rebate checks of $1,000 to $2,000 per person funded by tariff revenue, an idea President Donald Trump described as a “dividend to the people” in a recent interview.
The comments arrive as Bitcoin trades near record highs and US spot BTC ETFs draw steady inflows.
This proposal has emerged this week in a One America News interview, with broader coverage, but no bill and no Treasury structure has been published.
Americans could receive $1,000–$2,000 payouts, President Trump tells @baldwin_daniel_ , citing record tariff revenues that he says could soon hit $1 trillion a year. He says the gains will reduce the nation’s debt burden and boost growth.
Subscribe to OAN LIVE for more news like… pic.twitter.com/s0ZgsWB382
— One America News (@OANN) October 3, 2025
Markets are considering whether such rebates, were they to be put in effect, would boost household expenditure and appetite to risk in the last quarter of 2025.
Read the full story here.
Uptober Ongoing!
On October 4, 2025, analyst Ash Crypto pointed out a bullish MACD crossover on the altcoin market cap index — a setup that previously led to a 200% rally. Bitcoin is holding above $120,000, while altcoin dominance has climbed to 15%, showing growing interest in the sector. With these developments, some analysts are expecting strong performance this month, forecasting average returns of around 21% across the board for altcoins throughout October.
https://twitter.com/Ashcryptoreal/status/1974384157372657706
Can Bonk Crypto Kick Solana Meme Coin Season Back? Or Is This A Bitcoin Dominated Cycle?
There’s no denying that Bonk crypto has captured attention again. Sitting at a market cap near $1.6 billion and notching a 2.9% gain in the past 24 hours, it’s becoming hard to ignore. Volume is up over $500 million today. But is this a sign that interest in Solana’s memecoins may be returning?
The bigger question is: can Bonk revive the
Solana
3.48%
Solana
SOL
Price
$71.37
3.48% /24h
Volume in 24h
$1.74B
Price 7d
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meme coin season, or is Bitcoin still the only real crypto in town?
if you zoom out long enough, the $BONK chart looks like one extended sideways consolidation/accumulation range
believe it or not, BONK is destined for a deca-billion-dollar run
and it's going to happen sooner than many expect pic.twitter.com/kAVy2SLNhg
— Unipcs (aka 'Bonk Guy') 🎒 (@theunipcs) October 3, 2025
Bonk recently broke out of a long-term downtrend pattern. The wedge it was stuck in for months finally gave way, and now targets are forming near the $0.000022 level. With a one-trillion burnout of 77 trillion tokens, Bonk is hitting one million holders. Bonk is having a setup that memecoins have used before to rally in a very short timeframe.
Solana, with its strength, plays into the chain’s meme coins. SOL chain’s TVL just pushed past $12.6 billion, or up nearly 4% in a single day. This growth gives meme coin projects like Bonk the catalyst they need.
(source – SOL TVL, Defillama)
Open interest on Bonk crypto is also ticking higher. Funding rates have flipped positive, and that means traders are betting on more upside.
(source – BONK Open Interest, Coinglass)
Read the full story here.
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