After a turbulent week in markets following a hawkish pivot from the Federal Reserve, one prominent voice in the crypto VC space foresees brighter days ahead.
Cosmo Jiang, portfolio manager at Pantera Capital — a firm celebrating an extraordinary 1,000x return on its original Bitcoin fund — shared his optimistic outlook on the crypto market. Speaking with Coinage, Jiang explained why he believes altcoin season is officially in motion.
Discussing the recent market fluctuations, Jiang noted the Federal Reserve’s heightened focus on inflation. “It became clear that the Fed governors are far more concerned about inflation lingering longer than anticipated,” Jiang remarked. However, fewer rate cuts in 2025 don’t necessarily spell trouble for crypto. In fact, they might set the stage for non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies to shine.
Jiang, regarded as one of crypto’s leading fundamental investors, has an impressive track record at Pantera Capital. The firm’s significant investment in TON has paid off, with the Telegram-linked token rallying over 100% this year. Jiang now sees opportunities emerging across other tokens.
“In these cycles, Bitcoin leads the charge… but it’s really in the second phase that altcoins, or what we call longer-tail tokens, begin to outperform,” Jiang explained. He attributed this dynamic to supply and demand shifts. “On the supply side, there’s a growing number of exciting projects to invest in. On the demand side, Bitcoin’s recent highs have made investors more confident in exploring tokens with higher growth potential.”
One key metric Jiang follows is Bitcoin dominance — the percentage of the total crypto market cap represented by Bitcoin. “After the election, Bitcoin dominance fell from 60% to 54%,” Jiang pointed out. “That’s nearly 10 points of relative outperformance by other tokens.” For Jiang, this signals the start of a significant shift as capital flows increasingly into altcoins.
Among these, Solana stands out. “When we talk to large bank wirehouses, 90-95% of their conversations are about Bitcoin. But the next most-discussed token is Solana,” Jiang said. This rising institutional interest highlights Solana’s growing traction. “People are noticing which protocols are thriving and want to invest in assets that represent those successes,” he added.
Beyond individual tokens, Jiang is excited about innovation across the blockchain space. “You’re seeing transaction activity and user engagement soar on Solana and TON,” he noted. He also highlighted emerging trends in decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) and AI, describing them as “dominant areas of focus today.” Projects like Helium, Hivemapper, and GEODNET are breaking ground with real-world use cases, attracting corporate and government partnerships.
“Crypto is offering a better product at a lower price,” Jiang concluded, emphasizing the unique value that blockchain protocols bring to the table.
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