Crypto Market Glossary
Crypto Market Glossary
Clear definitions for altcoin season, Bitcoin dominance, market breadth, narratives, relative strength, and other crypto market terms.
- Altcoin
- Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Some methodologies classify Ethereum separately, but this tracker includes it as an altcoin.
- Altcoin Season
- A period when a broad group of leading altcoins outperforms Bitcoin. On this site the altcoin season zone starts when at least 75% of the 50 largest eligible altcoins have beaten Bitcoin over 90 days, and a season is confirmed only when Bitcoin dominance is also 42% or less. See the methodology.
- Altcoin Season Index
- A 0 to 100 score: the percentage of the 50 largest eligible altcoins whose return beat Bitcoin's over the same window. This site's headline reading uses 90 days; 25 or less is Bitcoin season and 75 or more is the altcoin season zone.
- Threshold Reading
- A day on which the Altcoin Season Index is 75 or more while Bitcoin dominance is still above 42%. Breadth has reached the season zone, but the season is not confirmed.
- Bitcoin Dominance
- Bitcoin's market capitalization as a percentage of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. This site treats 42% or less as the level that confirms rotation into altcoins, and also publishes dominance excluding stablecoins, which removes assets that cannot move against Bitcoin.
- Market Breadth
- The number or percentage of assets participating in a market move. A rally led by three coins has narrow breadth; one in which most of the top 50 altcoins beat Bitcoin has broad breadth, which is what the Altcoin Season Index measures.
- Market Capitalization
- Current price multiplied by circulating supply. It ranks assets by size and decides which 50 altcoins are eligible for the index.
- Narrative
- A market theme connecting projects with a common sector or investment thesis, such as AI, DeFi, or real-world assets.
- AI Agent
- Software that can interpret goals, make decisions, use tools, and potentially initiate blockchain transactions. Autonomy varies widely between projects.
- AI Crypto Token
- A crypto asset associated with an artificial-intelligence product, network, data market, compute service, agent platform, or related protocol. The label alone does not explain how the token captures value.
- Decentralized AI
- AI infrastructure or applications distributed across independent operators rather than controlled entirely by one provider. Different projects decentralize different layers, such as compute, data, models, or verification.
- Decentralized Compute
- A marketplace or network that coordinates independently supplied computing resources, including GPUs used for AI training or inference.
- DePIN
- Decentralized physical infrastructure networks use token incentives to coordinate real-world resources such as compute, storage, wireless coverage, energy, or sensors.
- Inference
- The process of running a trained AI model to produce an output. Inference demand, cost, and verification can affect the economics of decentralized AI networks.
- Relative Performance
- The return of one asset compared with the return of a benchmark over the same period. An altcoin that falls 5% while Bitcoin falls 12% has positive performance relative to Bitcoin even though its price dropped.
- Rotation
- A shift of capital from one part of the market to another, such as from Bitcoin into large-cap altcoins.
- Stablecoin
- A token designed to maintain a stable value relative to a currency or other reference asset.
- Token Value Capture
- The mechanism through which usage of a network may create demand for, distribute value to, or reduce the supply of its token. Product adoption does not automatically imply token value capture.