Definition
Bitcoin dominance is bitcoin's share of the total cryptocurrency market cap, expressed as a percentage. It shows how much of the crypto market's total value sits in bitcoin compared with all other coins.
How it works
The formula is bitcoin dominance = bitcoin market cap ÷ total crypto market cap × 100. Both parts of the fraction change all the time. Dominance rises when bitcoin's market cap grows faster than the rest of the market, or falls more slowly in a downturn, and it falls when other coins gain value faster than bitcoin. The total also depends on which coins a data provider includes, so dominance can differ slightly between sites.
A change in dominance does not always mean a price change. When stablecoins, tokens designed to stay at about $1, grow because more of them are issued, the total market cap rises and dominance falls even if no price moves. The listing of many new tokens also adds to the total. Some analysts look at dominance with and without stablecoins to separate these effects.
Traders follow dominance to see whether money is concentrating in bitcoin or spreading to other coins, and it is often discussed together with altcoin season. On its own, however, dominance describes market share, not whether to buy or sell. The same reading can come from very different combinations of price moves and supply changes.
Example (hypothetical numbers)
Suppose, in a hypothetical market, bitcoin's market cap is $600,000,000,000 and the total crypto market cap is $1,000,000,000,000.
Bitcoin dominance = $600,000,000,000 ÷ $1,000,000,000,000 × 100 = 60%.
Now stablecoin supply grows by $200,000,000,000 through new issuance while every price stays flat: $600,000,000,000 ÷ $1,200,000,000,000 × 100 = 50%.
Dominance fell by 10 percentage points even though no coin's price changed.
Common mistakes
- Reading falling dominance as proof that bitcoin's price is falling.
- Ignoring stablecoin growth, which lowers dominance without any change in prices.
- Using dominance alone as a signal to buy or sell bitcoin or other coins.
Related calculators
This glossary is for education only and is not investment advice. Examples use hypothetical numbers.