Bitcoin has started to consolidate just above the $10k mark but altcoins are still climbing which has pushed BTC dominance to an eight-month low. Has the alt season finally arrived?
Bitcoin Dominance Down 11%
Since the beginning of this year, the BTC market share has declined by almost 11%. By the end of last year it had topped 70% but today it has dropped to 62.5% according to Tradingview.com. This is the lowest it has been since early July 2019.
Bitcoin itself has made around 44% this year in a climb from just under $7,200 to top out at $10,500 a couple of days ago. These gains are impressive when compared to any other asset such as gold which has only managed just over 4% in the same period.
However, in the world of cryptocurrencies, these gains have been eclipsed by some of the altcoins, several of which have surged by three figures since the beginning of the year.
Total market capitalization itself is up over 60% since New Year’s Day as the rest of the cryptocurrencies out-perform their big brother. Total crypto market cap topped $300 billion this week which is the highest it has been since early August last year.
The move has not gone unnoticed by crypto traders who are now turning bullish on altcoins as the hopium of an alt season slowly returns.
#Bitcoin Dominance 3D TF-
This is ageing very well. With XRP/BTC & ETH/BTC pairs both looking incredibly bullish, can see BTC DOM only continuing to fall from here, my scenario might just play out.
ALTS ARE BACK BABY. pic.twitter.com/HQ5t3oWGph
— ESCO₿AR
(@TraderEscobar) February 15, 2020
Top Performing Altcoins
Ethereum is one of the year’s top-performing crypto assets with a surge of almost 120% since January first when it was priced at a lowly $130.
ETH market cap has now topped $30 billion which has clearly eaten into bitcoin’s market share. As a percentage though it is only 16% of the BTC cap so Ethereum has a long way to go yet.
Ripple’s XRP token has also been trading well lately and has gained 72% since the beginning of the year, also beating bitcoin to the delight of company CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
Bitcoin Cash has done even better with a surge of 136% in 2020 which is triple the gains its big brother has enjoyed. BTC’s other fork, BSV, has also been on fire with a whopping 260% pump from under $100 to current levels.
Even Litecoin has almost doubled in price this year from $40 to $80 and EOS has made a similar gain of around 100%.
One of the year’s, and 2019’s, top-performing crypto assets has been Tezos which has solidified its top ten positions with a surge of 160% this year to a new ATH, and 680% since the beginning of 2019.
With all this in mind and the fall in bitcoin dominance, it could finally be the beginning of alt season again.
Will bitcoin market share continue to fall this year? Add your comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, Bitcoin Dominance chart by TradingView, Twitter: @TraderEscobar