Bitcoin dominance throughout the years

Being the first and fundamental cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has been the most dominant cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization ever since it was created. For many years, Bitcoin made up around 90% of the entire crypto market but did take a considerable dive back in March of 2017 as altcoins shot up in value. Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin were the three cryptocurrencies that had the most significant impact on this shift, as Bitcoin fell from a dominance of around 85% to 37% within 4 months.

Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#dominance-percentage

Bitcoin’s dominance did, however, recover back to around 65% in the December bull run of 2017. Shortly after this, the total market capitalization of Bitcoin fell back down to approximately 33% in January, as investors were looking for rockets in other smaller cryptocurrencies. Ever since then, the crypto market has taken quite the tumble, but one thing to notice during these times is the steady increase in Bitcoin dominance. Bitcoin’s total market capitalization has now risen to 42.1% from 32.5% back in mid-January.

Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#dominance-percentage

Some investors theorize that an increase in Bitcoin dominance is not only healthy for the entire crypto market but also reveals the behavior of investors getting involved during the December hype of 2017. Back in January new investors were looking for quick opportunities in low cap coins but have now realized that Bitcoin might be the better and safer option.