As it nears a significant milestone, Bitcoin’s domination on the cryptocurrency market globally suggests a potential shift in market sentiment in favour of the first digital currency.
The indicator, which contrasts the market capitalization of the leading cryptocurrency with the sum of all cryptocurrencies, has risen beyond 50% and is on pace to reach 70%.
When examining Bitcoin’s dominance over the past ten years, a pattern of resistance to a burgeoning field of other cryptocurrencies, or altcoins, becomes apparent.
Between 2011 and 2013, despite the introduction of the first wave of alternative currencies, such as Litecoin and the Ripple-affiliated XRP, Bitcoin maintained a near-total market share of about 95%.
Despite the emergence of Ethereum in 2015 and a wave of initial coin offers (ICOs) in 2017–2018, Bitcoin was able to maintain its leadership in the market. Despite the ICO boom driving its dominance to a record low of 37% in January 2018, it has returned to above 50% by year’s end.
Decentralised finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have grown significantly over time, with the majority of these innovations based on rival blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. Due to this, Bitcoin’s market share fell to 39% by the middle of 2021.
But in November 2021, Bitcoin’s dominance regained its footing and began to rise. As of June 20, it had surpassed 50% for the first time since April 2021.
According to recent CoinGecko statistics, Bitcoin is beating altcoins on a weekly basis, signalling a rise in investor trust in the currency. With a $519 billion market valuation and a 2.8% weekly growth rate, Bitcoin stands firm in a market that has been disturbed by the erratic behaviour of altcoins.
