Bitcoin leads the market as altcoins struggle during price dip

Published: Apr 15, 2024 03:07:27 PM IST

Altcoin prices have plummeted significantly, with many of the top twenty cryptocurrencies falling by more than 15 percent

The market cap of global cryptocurrencies is $2.38T, which has gone up by 3.93 percent over the last 24 hours. Today, the market cap of Bitcoin (BTC) is $1.28T, making up 53.92 percent of the total market value of all cryptocurrencies. This is the highest since April 2021, reaching a three-year high. This rise in Bitcoin dominance is shifting the market dynamics, with altcoins experiencing a decline in their market share.

The recent rise in Bitcoin's dominance can be attributed to the BTC/USD price action falling below $65,300, causing a liquidation cascade. Parallelly, altcoin prices have plummeted significantly, with many of the top twenty cryptocurrencies falling by more than 15 percent. This change in market dynamics has caused altcoins to give up market share to Bitcoin, making it the most dominant cryptocurrency in the market since April 2021.

Considering the situation, Bagsy, a popular trader and social media commentator, tweeted on Saturday, April 13, "I don't typically look at Bitcoin dominance, but the chart is impressive considering the amount of new altcoins birthed into the market every day.”

Additionally, Over the weekend, several major altcoins experienced a dip, with Ethereum decreasing by 1 percent, Solana by 4 percent, Dogecoin by 3 percent, Cardano by 3.41 percent, Avalanche by 3.74 percent, and Shiba Inu by approximately 3.95 percent. Also, the Bitcoin price dropped by nearly 8 percent, from around $70,860 on April 12 to $65,044 as of April 15.

Meanwhile, according to a tweet by Daan Crypto Trades, “the actual hit on $BTC was very minimal, and the total downside also wasn't very relevant. The real damage was done in the #Altcoin sector, which wiped out billions of Open Interest and caused wicks of up to 50 percent”.

In past Bitcoin bull markets, its dominance typically rises early on, with altcoins gaining ground later as BTC/USD stabilises. In 2024, altcoins are doing okay, but they have yet to see the right conditions for strong growth and stability.

Trader Mikybull Crypto has forecasted that the current market cap of altcoins is following the trends of previous years, suggesting that a shift in market dynamics may be imminent. He tweeted, “Altcoins market cap is perfectly following the previous Alts season step. This is the last shake-off before it rips explosively upward coupled with Bitcoin dominance downward trend”.

Shashank is the founder of yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist.

Twitter: @bhardwajshash