The market can't make up its mind about altcoin season – and neither can the experts, apparently.

With the total crypto market cap sitting pretty at $1.8 trillion and Bitcoin's dominance at 61%, everyone is trying to call the next big move.

And CryptoQuant's Ki Young Ju just dropped a bombshell that's got CT in a heated debate about whether we’ll see an alt season at all.

The Volume Angle

Ki Young Ju hit X with a short but spicy take on February 21: "Altcoin season has begun."

His reasoning is that Bitcoin dominance doesn’t matter here– it's all about that volume ratio, with alts pushing 2.7x Bitcoin's trading activity on CEXs.

Stablecoin holders are apparently choosing alts over Bitcoin, suggesting smart money might be positioning for a serious move.

The Altcoin Season Index is telling a completely different story, sitting at a measly 29 – down from 61 just last month.

Bitcoin's still flexing with 61% market dominance, and most alts are struggling to break their ranging patterns.

Even the ETH/BTC pair looks bearish these days, so whether alt season is officially here or still far away is anyone’s guess.

The Expert Battle

Benjamin Cowen from IntoTheCryptoVerse isn't buying what Ki's selling.

He's sticking to his guns about Bitcoin dominance being the real indicator we should watch.

And honestly, the charts are kind of backing him up more than Ki right now.

Sure, trading volume is pumping, but price action over the last 30 and 90 days looks more sideways than the notorious crab market we’ve all been biting our nails over.

The usual Bitcoin-altcoin dance we've seen in previous cycles is gone – that correlation is weaker than ever, meaning something new is brewing.

And historically speaking, Bitcoin dominance loves to pump to 71% before giving alts their time to shine.

Different This Time?

We're seeing some serious evolution in market dynamics this cycle.

Trading volume might actually be the new meta for spotting alt season – Ki Young Ju could be onto something here.

The traditional indicators might be losing their edge as the market matures – remember that this entire industry is still in its infancy, and once-strong correlations can be broken as it matures.

The altcoin season debate of 2025 is far from settled.

While volume metrics are flashing green, traditional indicators are screaming "not yet."

Just remember – the best trades often happen when the market can't agree on what's next, so maybe keep a mixed bag in you wallet, just in case.