StrategyIntermediate#Market Structure#Sentiment
BTC Dominance
B
Definition
Bitcoin's stated share of an aggregation provider's total crypto market-cap denominator. It is a derived ratio, not a direct measure of capital flows, relative safety, an altcoin season, or future returns.
Source reviewed
- CoinGecko: Bitcoin Dominance opens in a new tab
Supports: CoinGecko defines Bitcoin dominance as Bitcoin market capitalization divided by global crypto market capitalization and publishes the resulting provider metric.
- CoinMarketCap: Market capitalization methodology opens in a new tab
Supports: CoinMarketCap documents distinct supply and market-cap measures, including circulating market cap based on public float, showing why a market-cap denominator is methodology-dependent.
- CoinGecko: Methodology opens in a new tab
Supports: CoinGecko documents its circulating-supply methodology, including treatment of locked tokens and provider discretion over listed cryptoasset data.
Concept Diagram
Key Takeaways
1
BTC dominance is Bitcoin market cap divided by a provider-defined total crypto market-cap denominator.
2
Provider asset coverage, supply methodology, stablecoins, wrappers, and timestamps can change the ratio.
3
A changing ratio does not identify a capital flow, investor motive, safety condition, or a specific altcoin outcome.
4
It cannot time entries or predict relative returns without a separately tested, disclosed method.
Practical Example
A researcher compares two providers' BTC-dominance values at the same time and records their asset universes and supply methodologies. They then separate Bitcoin's absolute market-cap change from the denominator's changes, including stablecoins and newly listed assets. They describe the result as a data-provider-specific share, not an altcoin trade signal.
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Related Terms
Blockchain
Market CapA price-and-supply snapshot: quoted token price multiplied by a stated supply figure. It is useful for scale comparisons only when the price, supply definition, time, and data source are disclosed; it is not a valuation or liquidity guarantee.
Strategy
DXY (US Dollar Index)The ICE U.S. Dollar Index: a fixed-weight, geometrically averaged measure of the US dollar against six currencies. It is one currency-index methodology, not a global-liquidity measure or a Bitcoin price signal.
Macro
Risk-On / Risk-OffInformal market shorthand for periods when investors appear more willing to hold risky assets (risk-on) or more focused on reducing risk (risk-off). It is a description, not a standardized regime or a forecast.
Strategy
Bear MarketA period of broad price declines and pessimistic sentiment. A 20% move over at least two months is a common stock-index convention, not a universal rule for crypto, a single asset, or every time window.
Strategy
Bull MarketA period of broad price gains and optimistic sentiment. A 20% rise over at least two months is a common stock-index convention, not a universal rule for crypto, a single asset, or every time window.
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