ETH’s Plunge to $2.3K

• ETH’s plunged to $2.3K as crypto extended losses in February.
• Altcoins remained capped amid increased BTC dominance.

On 25th February, Ethereum (ETH) plunged further to $2.3K, cracking below the $2.6K threshold, which crypto analyst Ali Martinez projected could ‘cancel altcoin season.’

Per Martinez’s analysis, a dip below the Ethereum’s long-term ascending channel would signal a break in ETH’s market structure and weigh on the altcoin market.

> “Altseason will be canceled if #Ethereum $ETH fails to hold $2,600!”

Altcoin Season Status

In the past 24 hours, the altcoin market shed an extra $160B in market cap after dropping from $1.28 trillion to $1.12 trillion.

Since last December’s peak, the altcoin segment has lost over $590 billion amid persistent bearish pressure.

Even the ETH/BTC ratio, one of the indicators of the altcoin momentum using ETH’s performance as the barometer, was yet to record a decisive bottom.

The ratio has dropped 68% to levels last seen five years ago.

Unlike the slight bounce in late 2024, which boosted the November altcoin pump, the indicator has not seen a strong relief rally again in 2025. This could dent altseason expectations.

However, CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju noted that large players’ addresses with $10K-100K ETH surged 24% in the past year.

Besides, with a cost basis of $2,199, ETH’s sustained recovery could depend on price holding above $2.2K.

That said, the altcoin season index was at 31, suggesting it was a firm BTC season.

Besides, BTC dominance surged over 2% from 60% to 62% over the past week, which could cap altcoin recovery prospects in the short term.

Surprisingly, some altcoin outliers saw double-digit gains despite the overall bearish pressure. Story (IP), Maker (MKR), Sei (SEI), and Berachain (BERA) were amongst the top weekly performers.

Meanwhile, Raydium’s RAY was the worst hit, down 46%, with additional pressure from Pumpfun launching its automated market maker (AMM) for its graduated tokens.