{"slug":"btc-dominance","term":"BTC Dominance","category":"Macro & Cycles","definition":"Bitcoin dominance is Bitcoin's market cap as a percentage of the total crypto market cap. Rising dominance means money favors BTC over altcoins; falling dominance means capital is rotating into alts. Traders use it to decide when to hold Bitcoin and when altcoins deserve the risk, since alts usually outperform only while dominance falls.","street":"Dominance tells you whose party it is this month — Bitcoin's or the alts' — before you buy a ticket to the wrong one.","depth":["It's one number — BTC market cap divided by total crypto market cap. It topped 70% in early 2021, sank near 40% at the peak of that alt season, and holds above 50% in BTC-led phases. Two distortions to remember: stablecoins sit in the denominator, so heavy stablecoin growth drags dominance down without anyone selling Bitcoin, and every new token listing dilutes it a little. Many desks track dominance ex-stables for a cleaner read.","The read that pays: pair dominance with BTC's own direction. BTC up, dominance up — BTC-only market, alts bleed on the pair. BTC up, dominance down — the classic alt-season window. BTC down, dominance up — flight to safety, alts get hit twice as hard. The trap is buying alts just because BTC looks strong; if dominance is rising, your alt can drop against BTC even on a green day. Check the dominance direction before adding alt risk, not after."],"live":{"label":"Check BTC strength vs alts","href":"/tools/btc-strength"},"related":["alt-season","market-cap","sector-rotation","correlation"]}