Bitcoin dominance
Bitcoin's share of the total crypto market capitalisation. Traders watch it as a rough gauge of whether money is concentrating in Bitcoin or spreading into everything else.
Market share breakdown
Stablecoin and alt shares are computed from the top 100 assets, so they understate the true long tail slightly. BTC and ETH dominance come from CoinGecko's global figures.
What dominance actually tells you
Dominance is a ratio, so it moves when either side of it moves. Bitcoin dominance can fall while Bitcoin is rising — that is the classic “altcoin season” shape, where alts simply rise faster. It can also rise during a crash, because alts fall harder. A dominance chart on its own cannot tell you which of those is happening, which is why it should never be read without the underlying market cap next to it.
Dominance up, total cap up
Money entering the market is going to Bitcoin first. Typical of early-cycle moves and post-ETF flows.
Dominance down, total cap up
Capital is rotating out of Bitcoin into alts. This is what people mean by altcoin season.
Dominance up, total cap down
A flight to safety inside crypto. Alts are being sold faster than Bitcoin.
Dominance down, total cap down
Rare and usually short-lived — Bitcoin-specific selling, often around a single large event.
Two things that distort the number
- Stablecoins are counted in the total. Roughly a tenth of “crypto market cap” is dollars. When stablecoin supply grows, Bitcoin dominance falls even if nothing else changed.
- Market cap is not money invested. It is price multiplied by circulating supply. A thinly traded token with a large supply can add tens of billions to the denominator on very little real flow.
Source: CoinGecko global market data, refreshed live in your browser.