Bitcoin Market Dominance Reaches 18-Month High, Altcoins Struggle to Keep Up

Currently sitting at 62.7 percent of the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin dominance is the highest it has been since December 2017 — more than 18 months ago. Since January 2018, Bitcoin dominance has been slowly increasing. It has almost doubled from its 2018 low of 32.4 percent as money moved out of altcoins and back into Bitcoin during a bearish year. In June 2017, Bitcoin (BTC) almost lost its crown as the world’s largest cryptocurrency to Ethereum (ETH), which had swelled to reach 33.5 percent market dominance versus Bitcoin’s 39.5 percent at the time. Now, things are markedly different — with Bitcoin now being almost six times larger than its nearest competitor. [bctt tweet=”Bitcoin dominance is now at its 18-month high, are altcoins due for a rebound?” username=”beincrypto”] Although its overall market capitalization stands at just two-thirds of what it was at its peak in December 2017, it is important to remember that its market cap is currently almost 300 percent higher than what it was just five months ago. During this same time, Ethereum and most other altcoins also witnessed impressive growth, but most failed to still fell short relative to Bitcoin. Widely considered to be the King of all cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is generally the benchmark against which all other coins are measured, and is commonly set as a base currency on cryptocurrency exchanges. As the default cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is often the first to move when there is positive news, and is typically the fallback cryptocurrency for many cryptocurrency traders. However, with Bitcoin recently struggling to top the $14,000 mark, many now suspect that altcoins will begin moving — potentially gaining significant ground on Bitcoin in the coming months. Part of the reason may be due to the recent announcement of Libra — a cryptocurrency launched by Facebook with the goal of providing financial services to the unbanked and making sending money as easy as sending a text message. With such a huge project on the horizon, it isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility that Bitcoin could be overthrown as the number one cryptocurrency. After all, both Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) have come relatively close in the past. How do you think Bitcoin’s dominance will change once Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency is launched in early 2020? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!