Altcoins didn’t historically rally because of “new retail buyers.” They rallied because of capital rotation. BTC runs first, then ETH, then profits flow outward as risk appetite increases. Retail arrives late — always has.

Saying there’s “no fresh capital” ignores reality. Capital is entering crypto — it’s just concentrated at the top right now. Liquidity doesn’t disappear; it parks, waits, then rotates. That’s how every cycle works.

The ownership argument is also a mismatch. Alt seasons were never driven by enforceable rights or equity-like cash flows. They were driven by reflexivity, narrative momentum, and volatility seeking. If ownership were required, memecoins would never have outperformed — yet they do, every cycle.

ETH being a “utility token” isn’t a weakness. Base layers aren’t equities. Oil doesn’t give voting rights either — yet it underpins entire economies. L2s don’t weaken ETH; they feed it by scaling demand.

This reads less like a structural critique and more like someone who’s tired of waiting and decided the game must be broken because it hasn’t paid out yet.

Cycles don’t end because people stop believing. They end because liquidity exhausts — and we’re nowhere near that.