Bitcoin Dominance
By Menno — 13 years in crypto, 3 bear markets survived, zero paid promotions
Last updated: March 2026
Bitcoin dominance is the percentage of the total cryptocurrency market cap held by Bitcoin. When dominance rises, Bitcoin outperforms altcoins. When it falls, altcoins tend to rally (alt season).
Bitcoin dominance measures Bitcoin's share of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. If the total crypto market is worth $2 trillion and Bitcoin is worth $1 trillion, Bitcoin dominance is 50%.
Dominance is useful for understanding where money is flowing:
Rising dominance: capital is flowing from altcoins into Bitcoin. This often happens during risk-off periods or early bull markets when investors seek the relative safety of BTC.
Falling dominance: capital is flowing from Bitcoin into altcoins. This often happens during "alt season" — the euphoric phase of a bull market when speculators chase higher returns in smaller coins.
On Alpha Factory, BTC Dominance is one of 8 indicators in the Altcoin Rules system (5% weight). Rising dominance is a negative signal for altcoin buying because it suggests the market favors Bitcoin over alts.
Smart investors monitor dominance trends to time their allocation between Bitcoin and altcoins.
Related Tools on Alpha Factory
Related Terms
Altcoin Rules
Altcoin Rules is Alpha Factory's 8-indicator scoring system that evaluates whether conditions are favorable for buying an altcoin, combining Risk Wave, RSI, Fear & Greed, token unlocks, and more into a single composite score.
Market Sentiment
Market sentiment is the overall attitude of investors toward a market or asset — ranging from extreme fear (pessimism) to extreme greed (optimism). It often drives short-term price movements more than fundamentals.
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