Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D) is Bitcoin’s market capitalisation as a percentage of the total crypto market capitalisation tracked by a data provider. It splits the market’s value between Bitcoin and everything else, and reports Bitcoin’s share.

It is a relative measure, not an absolute one. The share rises when Bitcoin outperforms the rest of the market and falls when the rest outperforms Bitcoin, whether prices overall are going up, down or nowhere. Bitcoin can gain dominance in a falling market by falling less, and lose it in a rally when other assets rise faster.

How Bitcoin Dominance is calculated

Formula. Bitcoin Market Cap ÷ Total Crypto Market Cap × 100.

The denominator depends on each provider’s asset universe and circulating-supply estimates. Stablecoins, wrapped assets and newly listed tokens can be included or excluded differently, so two BTC.D charts can show different values on the same day.

Why the denominator matters

If a provider includes stablecoins, a rise in their market value lowers Bitcoin’s share even when Bitcoin itself has not moved. That does not prove capital rotated out of Bitcoin.

New listings dilute the share only when their market value is added to the total. Over long periods, assets entering and leaving the measured universe put a slow drift into the series that has nothing to do with performance, so historical comparisons need care.

Rising dominance says nothing about direction

Dominance gets used as a market signal in both directions: rising means a flight to safety, falling means risk appetite is returning. Both can be true on different occasions, but neither follows from the number itself.

A climbing share while everything rallies is ordinary. It only says Bitcoin gained faster. The share can also sit unchanged while the whole market halves or doubles, because it describes how the total is split, not how big the total is. To judge whether capital is genuinely rotating, read it alongside total market value, Bitcoin’s own returns, breadth and stablecoin supply.

What it does not tell you

It does not measure cash flow. Market capitalisation can change without an equal amount of money moving, and much of Bitcoin’s value rests on supply that has not moved in years.

It is driven by a handful of the largest assets on the other side of the split. The long tail of smaller coins contributes very little, whatever it does.

How to read it

Rotating to Bitcoin. Capital is concentrating into Bitcoin, or leaving the rest of the market faster.

Balanced. Neither side of the split is gaining ground on the other.

Rotating to alts. Money is dispersing outward, away from the largest asset.

The dashboard reads the same series three ways: where the share sits now, how quickly it is moving, and how unusual the current level is against its own history. When the three disagree, the disagreement is often the most useful part.

BTC Dominance updates daily on the Relative Performance dashboard, alongside the Altcoin Season Index, BTC vs Field and Valuation Bridge.

Related metrics: Altcoin Season Index, Altcoin Breadth and Stablecoin Market Cap.

Common questions

Is BTC.D the same as Bitcoin Dominance?

Yes. BTC.D is the ticker-style shorthand most charting platforms use for the same measure: Bitcoin’s share of total crypto market capitalisation.

Does rising dominance mean Bitcoin’s price is rising?

No. It means Bitcoin is outperforming the rest of the measured market. Both sides can still be falling.

Can dominance rise in a bull market?

Yes, and it often has. The figure only reports which side gained faster, which is untroubled by everything gaining at once.

Do stablecoins affect BTC.D?

Yes, when the provider includes their market value in total crypto market cap. A growing stablecoin supply can push dominance down without anyone selling Bitcoin.

Does falling dominance prove money moved into altcoins?

No. It shows a relative change in market value. Breadth, trading flows and total market value give stronger evidence of rotation.

Why do different websites show different dominance figures?

They track different asset universes and treat stablecoins, wrapped tokens and supply estimates differently. Check the methodology before comparing two numbers.