Dominance du Bitcoin expliquée : pourquoi ce métrique est plus important que vous ne le pensez

If you’ve spent time in crypto Twitter, you’ve probably heard traders obsessing over “Bitcoin dominance” (BTC Dom). But what does it actually mean, and why should you care? Let’s break it down without the jargon.

What Is Bitcoin Dominance?

Simple version: Bitcoin dominance is the percentage of Bitcoin’s market cap compared to the entire crypto market cap.

Example: If Bitcoin’s market cap is $1 trillion and the total crypto market is worth $2 trillion, then Bitcoin dominance = 50%.

That’s it. It’s basically measuring how much of the total crypto pie Bitcoin owns.

How Does It Work?

Every time Bitcoin’s price moves relative to other coins, the dominance ratio shifts:

• BTC dominance rises → Bitcoin is gaining market share (investors rotating into BTC)
• BTC dominance falls → Altcoins are pumping faster than Bitcoin (alt season vibes)

Four Scenarios When Dominance Rises

When BTC dominance climbs, it doesn’t always mean the same thing:

1. BTC mooning, alts stable → Investors are actively buying Bitcoin
2. Both rising, but BTC faster → Flight to safety within crypto
3. Both falling, but alts harder → Market crash, Bitcoin shows resilience
4. BTC stable, alts dumping → Fear, capital rotating to safety

The point: rising dominance = BTC is outperforming, but the why varies.

Four Scenarios When Dominance Falls

Similarly, falling dominance has multiple interpretations:

1. Alts pumping, BTC stable → Retail FOMO into “cheaper” coins
2. Both rising, alts faster → Alt season is real
3. Both falling, but BTC harder → BTC weakness (rare but happens)
4. Alts stable, BTC dumping → Bitcoin loses confidence

The Critical Thresholds

BTC Dom drops below 40% → Extreme alt season. Bitcoin’s grip on the market loosens. This usually happens after massive bull runs when retail pours money into moonshot tokens.

BTC Dom rises above 50% → Bitcoin dominance. More than half the entire crypto market cap is in Bitcoin alone. This signals strength and typically happens after BTC recovers from crashes.

Bitcoin Halving & Dominance

Historically, Bitcoin halvings (which cut mining rewards in half) trigger huge volatility. Around halving events, dominance often spikes because:

• Uncertainty sends capital to the “safest” asset (Bitcoin)
• Media attention focuses on BTC
• After the spike, alts often recover as hype fades

Bitcoin ETFs Changed the Game

When Bitcoin spot ETFs launched (especially in major markets), dominance initially surged because:

• Institutional money flowed into the easiest vehicle (ETFs, not altcoins)
• Retail investors who wanted crypto exposure chose ETFs over individual alts
• Over time, this effect normalized, but BTC dominance stayed elevated

The lesson: major financial infrastructure changes can shift dominance patterns.

Does Lower Dominance = Higher Alt Prices?

Not necessarily. This is the trap most people fall into.

Imagine the total crypto market drops 50%, but alts drop 60% while Bitcoin drops 45%. Dominance rises even though everything is bleeding red.

Conversely, total market could be flat, alts could pump, dominance falls—but if there’s no new money flowing in, prices might not sustain.

The Real Truth: Dominance is a relative indicator, not absolute. It doesn’t guarantee profit. It just shows which asset is winning the game of musical chairs.

How to Use This Info

Falling dominance signals:

• Risk appetite is increasing
• Money is rotating from Bitcoin into alts
• Potentially higher volatility ahead
• Good time to scout altcoin setups (but also higher risk)

Rising dominance signals:

• Risk-off sentiment
• Capital flight to safety
• Expect altcoins to underperform
• Bitcoin showing strength

Bottom Line

Bitcoin dominance is just one piece of the puzzle. Don’t trade based on it alone—combine it with volume, on-chain metrics, and macro conditions. But understanding what dominance represents? That’s crucial context for reading the room.