Bitcoin Dominance Surges, Accounting For Nearly Half of The $1T Crypto Market, Amid Altcoin Selloff
Bitcoin's dominance rate neared the 50% mark early Saturday as altcoin crash triggered a flight to safety.
Bitcoin's (BTC) dominance rate or share in the total crypto market capitalization rose early Saturday, nearing the 50% mark for the first time since April 2021, according to data tracked by charting platform TradingView.
Meanwhile, bitcoin lost just 3%. The relative outperformance perhaps stemmed from increased haven demand – investors moving money out of altcoins and into bitcoin, the world's largest and most liquid cryptocurrency.
"Bitcoin's relative dominance mooning amid altcoin market sell-off. Flight to majors (1st stage before crashes occur)," pseudonymous crypto trader and analyst @52kskew tweeted.
BTC's dominance rate has been steadily rising since November and surged during the March U.S. banking crisis. The indicator now looks to be breaking out of its three-year oscillation pattern, a sign of continued bitcoin outperformance in months ahead, according to Decentral Park Capital's Lewis Harland.
Tether, the world's largest dollar-pegged stablecoin, also likely benefitted from Saturday's risk aversion. Its dominance rate jumped 5% to 7.82%, the highest since Jan. 8, TradingView data showed.