Exclusive: Altcoins Show Early Bull Market Signs, Says Michaël van de Poppe

The altcoin market may be quietly entering a new bullish phase, according to Michaël van de Poppe, the CIO and Founder of MN Fund, MN Capital, and New Era Finance. In an exclusive interview with Coinpedia, Van de Poppe said investor appetite for altcoins has changed significantly compared to six months ago, even as Bitcoin continues to struggle near recent lows.

Recent market data appears to support this shift. According to CoinGecko, altcoin market capitalization has climbed to around $84.1 billion, while the Altcoin Season Index currently sits at 47, just below the 50 level that often signals broader altcoin dominance. Trading activity has also surged, with altcoin volume jumping more than 218% in the past 24 hours.

Altcoins Are Outperforming Bitcoin

Van de Poppe says current price action is not typical of a bear market. His observations indicate that trends in crypto assets may be diverging from previous cycles.

“It’s already fascinating to see that there’s a change in appetite on altcoins versus six months ago,” he said.

Despite Bitcoin remaining weak, several altcoins have already reached yearly highs, while some have even posted new all-time highs.

“Those aren’t signals of a bear market to happen, those are signals of a bull market that’s starting up, although there’s just one asset staying behind: Bitcoin,” Van de Poppe explained.

He added that if concerns surrounding Strategy’s STRC situation ease, liquidity could flow back into crypto markets, leading to more altcoin breakouts. In this case, he expects a stronger trend for mid-cap assets.

Three Narratives Are Driving Interest

According to Van de Poppe, the improving sentiment is becoming visible across several narratives.

First is privacy. He said many long-term crypto participants are returning to privacy-focused projects, driving renewed interest in protocols like ZCash and NEAR. He noted that NEAR’s growing revenues also strengthen its investment case.

The second trend is on-chain securities. The listing of SpaceX shares on crypto platforms sparked fresh activity across exchanges and boosted interest in perpetual decentralized exchanges. Hyperliquid recently hit new all-time highs, while ONDO, Backpack, and Solana have also benefited from this narrative.

The third major theme is decentralized AI. Following restrictions on Fable 5 outside the United States, traders increasingly turned to decentralized alternatives.

“This made Bittensor an actively traded asset that week, and I think the topic of decentralization is the big narrative that will continue to emerge,” Van de Poppe said.

Is Altcoin Capitulation Nearing an End?

Glassnode’s Altcoin Cycle Signal has moved back into Altcoin Season territory. However, the analytics firm noted that unlike previous cycles, Bitcoin’s recent weakness has played a larger role in driving the signal. As a result, van de Poppe remains cautiously optimistic about the near future for altcoins.

Although CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju argues the traditional Bitcoin-to-altcoin rotation has weakened, data also shows altcoins have endured nearly 15 months of heavy selling.

Historically, similar periods of extreme seller exhaustion have marked major market bottoms, suggesting altcoins may be closer to recovery than another major collapse.