
After months of sluggish price action across many altcoins, signs are finally pointing toward the beginning of a long-awaited altseason. As of late July 2025, the Altcoin Season Index has jumped to around 50, a massive rise from the 12 it sat at back in June. While we’re not quite in full altseason territory yet – which requires the index to surpass 75 – the momentum is definitely building.
Bitcoin dominance has also started to slip, dropping from 64% to just above 60.5%. That’s another early sign that capital is rotating out of Bitcoin and into altcoins. However, the full shift hasn’t happened yet, and analysts say we’re likely in the early uptrend phase where large-cap altcoins begin moving before smaller projects catch fire.
Coins like Ethereum, Chainlink, Solana, and Cardano have already started to move, signaling growing interest outside of Bitcoin. Ethereum in particular is flashing bullish technical signals and could be gearing up to lead the next wave higher. If Bitcoin dominance continues to fall below 60%, it could trigger a wider rotation into lower-cap altcoins and start the explosive part of the cycle.
Macro conditions also favor altcoins right now. Easy monetary policies, consistent inflows into BTC and ETH ETFs, and growing hype around sectors like AI, gaming, and real-world asset tokenization are giving traders plenty of reasons to look beyond the majors. As crypto tends to follow a well-known emotional cycle, many analysts believe we’re moving from early interest into true FOMO territory.
What you'll learn 👉
What’s the Best Cryptos to Buy Now?
If altseason really is starting, this is when early movers can make life-changing gains by spotting the right projects early. Two names that stand out right now are Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) and Empyreal ($EMP).
Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER)
Bitcoin Hyper is one of the hottest presales on the market right now, raising over $5.6 million in just a few weeks. Built as a Layer-2 on top of Bitcoin, it brings smart contracts, blazing-fast transaction speeds, and decentralized apps to the Bitcoin ecosystem by leveraging Solana’s ultra-efficient Solana Virtual Machine (SVM).

Here’s how it works: Bitcoin is deposited into a secure bridge and wrapped into wBTC on the Bitcoin Hyper network. From there, users can interact with dApps, DeFi protocols, and other services at lightning speed (up to 12,000 TPS). Thanks to zero-knowledge proofs and secure cryptography, the system maintains the core security of the Bitcoin mainnet while offering advanced capabilities on Layer-2.
The $HYPER token fuels the ecosystem – it’s used for fees, staking (with sky-high APYs around 200%), governance, and platform access. With hype building and strong fundamentals, HYPER is one of the most promising Bitcoin-native innovations in the space.
Empyreal ($EMP)
Empyreal is another standout – a powerful DeFi protocol powered by AI and designed for advanced yield farming, trading, and secure, private transactions. It supports modular, scalable infrastructure that lets users and developers easily integrate AI-driven tools without needing deep technical knowledge.
What makes Empyreal special is its low-code environment and real-time data streaming. Users can deploy AI trading bots, automate yield strategies, and even enable private, trustless transactions via account abstraction. Plus, revenue from network activity is shared directly with $EMP stakers.
After bottoming out around $40, the price recently spiked over $170 during the latest market push. Now trading around $140–$145, it still sits far below its $500 all-time high from late 2024. With a market cap of only around $40 million, EMP could easily break new highs if a true altseason kicks off.
In summary, while the market hasn’t fully transitioned into altseason yet, signs are aligning for a big move. For traders looking to front-run the crowd, Bitcoin Hyper and Empyreal might be two of the most promising projects to watch right now.
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