Retail Traders Can S...

Retail Traders Can Still Ride Crypto’s Classic Waves, Says Coinstash Co‑Founder

By José Oramas July 24, 2025 In Cryptocurrency, Trading

Coinstash co-founder Mena Theodorou believes retail investors can still profit in the current crypto cycle by adopting an emotionless, pattern-based approach, despite increasing institutional involvement.
Theodorou’s outlook is based on historical crypto cycles where Bitcoin leads and then slows, allowing altcoins to “catch up” in a subsequent rally, potentially followed by a memecoin surge.
Recent market shifts, including a drop in Bitcoin dominance and a significant increase in Ethereum’s price and ETF inflows, suggest a rotation to altcoins is underway, aligning with Theodorou’s prediction.

Retail traders still have room to profit in this cycle by following historical patterns, despite growing institutional dominance, according to Coinstash co-founder Mena Theodorou.

“If you’re analytical, follow the patterns, and take an emotionless approach, you’re going to do well in the crypto space,” Theodorou told Cointelegraph on Tuesday.

His outlook remains tied to the same structure that’s defined every major crypto cycle: Bitcoin leads, peaks in dominance, and then stalls, giving way to altcoins.

I just follow the patterns of what’s happened in the past. When Bitcoin slows down, you’ll see it drop a little bit. And then you’ll see the altcoins kind of catch up and do their little thing.

Mena Theodorou, Coinstash co-founder.

Altseason Next?

According to Theodorou, this phase typically transitions into a full-blown altseason, which tends to be punctuated by a memecoin rally. “At some point, all the memecoins would start to go crazy.”

That also depends on Bitcoin’s dominance, of course, and market indicators are starting to reflect that shift. Ever since Bitcoin hit a new high of over US$122K (AU$184K) early in July, there’s been a drop in dominance, down 7.44 % over the past 30 days.

Ethereum, by contrast, is up 20% in that same window. The broader market seems to be rotating, with CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index flipping from “Bitcoin Season” to “Altcoin Season”.

While that index is more sentiment-driven than predictive, it does reflect a shift in momentum that aligns with Theodorou’s thesis. When Bitcoin consolidates, traders historically begin reallocating into higher-beta assets like altcoins, hoping to front-run retail interest.

Recently, Ethereum ETFs recorded their largest ever weekly inflow with over US$2.1B (AU$3.25B), as Crypto News Australia reported. It doesn’t seem like the rally for ETH will stop anytime soon. Additionally, Bitwise CIO, Matt Hougan, stated that corporations could acquire up to 5.33M ETH within a year. That’s around US$20B (AU$30.5B).