Bitcoin Is Falling ... So Why Are Altcoins Still Strong?
Every Monday brings a fresh weekly candle, and on June 1st the crypto market is telling two stories at once. Bitcoin is grinding lower. The altcoin side of the market, measured properly, is holding sideways. That divergence is worth understanding, because it usually shows up before the market picks a direction.
The Total Market Chart Is Really a Bitcoin Chart
On the weekly total crypto market cap chart, the MACD has been a reliable rhythm keeper. When the lines cross up and green histogram bars appear, the market tends to run. When they cross down, price tends to drift sideways or lower. That pattern has repeated cleanly, and a crossover about eight weeks ago hinted at a bottoming process before momentum stalled again.
But the structure still looks bearish: lower highs and lower lows, the opposite of the higher highs and higher lows that define a bull market. Here's the catch — Bitcoin makes up roughly 60% of total crypto market cap. When one asset is 60% of the index, the index is mostly that asset. That's why the total market chart and the Bitcoin chart look nearly identical. If you want the full picture of how this ratio distorts what you're looking at, it helps to understand how Bitcoin dominance shapes altcoin performance before drawing conclusions from a single chart.
Strip Bitcoin Out and Altcoins Look Different
The "others" index removes the top 10 coins and captures the bulk of remaining altcoin capital. Over the last four weeks, while the total market drifted down, others went sideways, then down, then up, then up again. Its MACD also looks healthier. That's the divergence: Bitcoin weakness is dragging the headline number while the altcoin complex quietly refuses to break.
This isn't a signal to buy anything. It's a signal to watch. Two things happening at once is normal before a breakout — and also normal before a breakdown. The reason altcoins can stay firm while Bitcoin sells off usually comes down to where capital is rotating rather than where sentiment is.
Support Levels That Actually Matter
Volume profile adds context that moving averages miss. Measuring from the 2023 low near $16K, the point of control — where the most transactions occurred — now sits just below current Bitcoin price as support. If Bitcoin tests it and holds, that's constructive. If it breaks, retests from below, and fails, that support becomes resistance, and the low-volume area near $40–42K comes into play.
Ethereum tells a different story. Measured from roughly $900, its fair value zone sits around $1,600, with a second heavy activity zone near $1,800. ETH came down, touched, and closed higher. A repeat of 2025, when price simply sat on that shelf and bounced, would be encouraging. The ETH/BTC ratio matters just as much — historically, alt runs begin when Ethereum starts outperforming Bitcoin on the ratio chart, and that ratio has stalled after its recent run.
If you want to build these views yourself — weekly MACD, 200 EMA, volume profile, and alerts on those support shelves — setting up multi-timeframe crypto charts in TradingView is the practical starting point. TradingView's volume profile and alert tools are what make levels like these usable instead of theoretical.
The Perpetuals Story Nobody Priced In
One more development: US companies still can't offer perpetual futures, which pushes leverage traders offshore. The CFTC just approved the first Bitcoin perpetuals contract in the US. That's a test, and if it works, it may open the floodgates. Hyperliquid's two-week bounce is partly this story. Exchanges tend to move ahead of regulation, not after it.
Want the full weekly market breakdown, plus live sessions on copy trading, investing, trading tips, and DeFi? Join the crypto school community at skool.com/crypto-profit and walk through these charts with us every Monday.
---
Affiliate Disclosure: This site may contain affiliate links. If you use them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Content is for educational purposes only — not financial advice.