GLOSSARY // Crypto
Bitcoin Dominance
Bitcoin dominance is Bitcoin's share of the total crypto market cap. If all crypto is worth $2.5 trillion and Bitcoin is $1.3 trillion of that, dominance is 52%.
Traders read it as a risk gauge. Rising dominance usually means money is rotating into Bitcoin as the safer bet, often while altcoins bleed; falling dominance means capital is chasing altcoins for bigger swings, the classic altseason setup. It says nothing about direction on its own — dominance can rise while everything falls, if altcoins simply fall faster.
Dominance climbs from 48% to 56% over a month while total market cap is flat. That tells you Bitcoin held its value and altcoins lost ground to it, so an altcoin-heavy portfolio likely underperformed even though the overall market went nowhere.
Related terms
Educational only — not financial advice. Definitions simplified for clarity; markets are messier than definitions.