Bitcoin Dominance Hits New Cycle High

BTC.D, or Bitcoin dominance, hit a new cycle high of 61.6% following this weekend’s altcoin liquidation spike, marking its highest level since March 2021.

The metric, closely watched by traders as a barometer of altcoin market strength, has skyrocketed from its local low of 54.7% in early December to 61.6% on Feb 3, a 12% increase. At one point, when Ethereum crashed to $2100, BTC.D touched as high as 64.2%.

The most recent BTC.D high was 60% on Nov 21, 2024, where it quickly fell as altcoins and AI agent tokens began to attract interest from market participants. Falling Bitcoin dominance is often associated with “alt season,” a frothy period during bull markets where most, if not all, altcoins rally.

Alt season has somewhat converted into a meme over the last couple of years, given the rampant dispersion in altcoin returns and Bitcoin’s general outperformance.

The persistent trend in BTC dominance may be partially due to consistent BTC ETF inflows, which operate outside of the crypto-native pool of capital that generally bids altcoins.

Over the last two weeks, Bitcoin ETFs have processed $4.7 billion in inflows while Ethereum ETFs have added just $341 million, according to Farside Investors.