Andrey Grachev referred to altcoin seasons as a relic of the past., 2026/03/15 13:23:19

The cycles in which investors actively allocate funds to cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin are becoming a thing of the past, as a new dynamic emerges in the crypto market, stated Andrey Grachev, CEO of the market maker DWF Labs.

Grachev believes that three primary factors could hinder the rapid growth of altcoins: the abundance of diverse tokens competing for limited investor capital and attention, a decline in market participant activity, and the blockage of liquidity in cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

He is convinced that all these elements are altering the traditional flow of capital. Currently, institutional investors are focusing on major crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), which results in less capital flowing into high-risk altcoins.

“The crypto market will still have a range of tokens, but they will operate more like high-risk venture projects or casino-style games. There will not be enough investor capital to sustain them. This implies shorter growth periods and more pronounced fluctuations. Weak projects will find it increasingly difficult to survive solely on hype. The market is moving away from broad altcoin rallies and becoming more selective, targeting specific sectors,” said the CEO of DWF Labs.

In February, Grachev remarked that most altcoins would struggle to recover from the current severe bearish trend in the crypto market. Only projects with a sustainable business model and genuine user activity have prospects. Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, also believes that periods of explosive altcoin growth are unlikely to recur, and the winners of the next altcoin season will be those crypto assets that have found real-world applications.