What happened?
Altcoin season is underway but it’s selective, pushing capital into tokens with clear liquidity and fresh catalysts like DeXe, Ether.fi, and Aptos. DeXe surged on renewed social-trading and governance interest, Ether.fi moved on a restaking and staking-demand narrative, and Aptos climbed after partnership and stablecoin news. Traders are rotating from mega-caps into mid-cap projects that show real utility and active volume.
Who does this affect?
Short-term traders and momentum investors are benefiting first as these mid-cap tokens see big intraday moves and higher trading volume. Long-term holders, stakers, and DAO participants in these ecosystems are seeing more on-chain activity and potentially stronger fundamentals. Exchanges, market makers, and liquidity providers also feel the shift as flow and liquidity concentrate into these specific assets.
Why does this matter?
Selective rotations can change market leadership by producing outsized gains in mid-caps, pulling attention and capital away from the largest tokens. If volumes and liquidity hold, governance tools, restaking platforms, and base-layer networks could keep outperforming and attract more institutional and retail money. But the broader market impact hinges on sustained flows—if volume fades the rally may stall and traders will move to the next set of catalysts.