Bitcoin Dominance Chart

Track Bitcoin's market dominance in real time. See BTC's share of the total cryptocurrency market cap with live data and historical trends.

How much of crypto belongs to Bitcoin?
Live dominance data. Market cap breakdown. Top 10 coins. Updated every 60 seconds.

Bitcoin dominance measures BTC's share of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. When dominance rises, it typically signals that investors are favoring Bitcoin over altcoins. When it falls, capital is flowing into alternative cryptocurrencies, a period often called "altseason." Tracking dominance helps you understand market cycles and position your portfolio accordingly.

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What Is Bitcoin Dominance?

Bitcoin dominance is a metric that shows Bitcoin's market capitalization as a percentage of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. When Bitcoin was the only cryptocurrency, its dominance was 100%. As thousands of altcoins have been created, dominance has fluctuated between roughly 35% and 70% over the years.

The formula is simple: BTC Dominance = (Bitcoin Market Cap / Total Crypto Market Cap) x 100. This metric was popularized by CoinMarketCap and has become one of the most-watched indicators in crypto trading. It provides a high-level view of whether capital is concentrating in Bitcoin or dispersing across the broader market.

Why dominance matters for miners

High Bitcoin dominance typically correlates with stronger BTC prices and more mining profitability. When dominance falls during "altseason," BTC may underperform but overall market enthusiasm tends to be high. Miners who earn in BTC benefit most when dominance and price are both rising.

Dominance and Market Cycles

Bitcoin dominance tends to follow cyclical patterns that correlate with broader crypto market cycles. Understanding these patterns can help investors and miners make more informed decisions:

Rising Dominance

Dominance typically rises during bear markets (flight to safety) and early bull markets (Bitcoin leads the rally). Investors move from riskier altcoins to Bitcoin when uncertainty is high, or when Bitcoin starts a new uptrend before altcoins follow.

Falling Dominance (Altseason)

Dominance falls during late-stage bull markets when speculative capital rotates from Bitcoin into altcoins. This "altseason" phase often produces the largest percentage gains in smaller coins but also signals that the cycle may be nearing its peak.

The Stablecoin Factor

An important caveat with Bitcoin dominance is the growing role of stablecoins. USDT (Tether), USDC, and other stablecoins have collectively grown to hundreds of billions in market cap. Since stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar and do not fluctuate with the crypto market, their inclusion in total market cap calculations can artificially depress Bitcoin's dominance percentage.

Some analysts prefer to calculate "adjusted dominance" by excluding stablecoins from the total market cap. This adjusted figure often shows Bitcoin's true share of the speculative crypto market is higher than the headline number suggests. When comparing dominance across different time periods, keep the stablecoin growth factor in mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Bitcoin's highest dominance?
Bitcoin started at 100% dominance when it was the only cryptocurrency. Even after altcoins emerged, it maintained above 95% dominance until 2017. During the 2017 ICO boom, dominance dropped to around 37%. It recovered to about 70% in early 2021 before falling again. Historically, dominance below 40% has signaled altseason tops, while above 60% has signaled Bitcoin strength.
What is "altseason" and how do I spot it?
Altseason refers to a period when altcoins collectively outperform Bitcoin. Key signals include rapidly declining BTC dominance, increasing social media activity around altcoins, and 75% or more of the top 50 coins outperforming Bitcoin over a 90-day period. The Blockchain Center's "Altseason Index" is a popular tool for tracking this. For miners, altseason means BTC may underperform the broader market.
Does falling BTC dominance mean Bitcoin is failing?
Not at all. Falling dominance usually occurs during bull markets when the entire crypto market is growing, and altcoins are simply growing faster than Bitcoin. Bitcoin's market cap can still be increasing in absolute terms while dominance falls. It simply means other projects are attracting more new investment at that moment. Dominance is a relative measure, not an absolute one.
How does ETH dominance relate to BTC dominance?
BTC and ETH dominance often move inversely, but not always. When BTC dominance falls, ETH dominance may rise if Ethereum is leading the altcoin rally. However, during extreme altseason phases, both BTC and ETH dominance can fall as smaller altcoins take market share. The ETH/BTC ratio is another useful metric for gauging the rotation between the two largest cryptocurrencies.
Where does this data come from?
This tool uses the CoinGecko API, one of the most widely used cryptocurrency data providers. Global market data and dominance percentages come from the /global endpoint, while individual coin data comes from the /coins/markets endpoint. CoinGecko aggregates price and volume data from hundreds of exchanges worldwide. Data refreshes every 60 seconds.
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