Mastering btc vs altcoin dominance chart Signals

Published On: 2025-11-01

Prepared by Jameson Richman and our team of experts with over a decade of experience in cryptocurrency and digital asset analysis. Learn more about us.

The btc vs altcoin dominance chart is a pivotal tool for cryptocurrency traders and investors who want to time rotations, anticipate alt seasons, and manage portfolio risk. This article explains what the dominance chart measures, how it’s calculated, how to read shifts between Bitcoin and altcoins, and practical trading strategies you can apply on different timeframes. You’ll also get actionable setups, on-chain and technical confirmation tools, integrations with platforms like TradingView and Bybit, and useful resources — including calculators and signal sources — to help implement these strategies effectively.

What is the btc vs altcoin dominance chart?

The btc vs altcoin dominance chart compares Bitcoin’s market capitalization share to the combined market cap of all other cryptocurrencies. When people refer to “BTC dominance” they usually mean the percentage of the total crypto market capitalization that Bitcoin represents. The inverse — altcoin dominance — shows how much market cap is allocated to non-Bitcoin projects. The chart itself plots BTC dominance (or sometimes altcoin dominance) over time and helps identify market structure, investor risk appetite, and likely capital flows between Bitcoin and altcoins.

Common related terms you’ll see alongside this keyword include: Bitcoin dominance, BTC.D, alt season, market cap rotation, BTC market share, altcoin cycles, and dominance chart analysis.

How BTC dominance is calculated

BTC dominance (%) = (Market Cap of Bitcoin / Total Crypto Market Cap) × 100

Total crypto market cap = Bitcoin market cap + market cap of all altcoins (Ethereum, BNB, Solana, etc.). The data source for market caps matters. Reputable aggregators like CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko are commonly used. Small differences in circulating supply or price feeds can slightly change dominance values between providers.

Why the dominance chart matters

Rotation insight: A declining BTC dominance typically signals capital rotating into altcoins — often a precursor to an “altseason.”
Risk appetite: Rising BTC dominance indicates risk-off behavior, where traders favor the perceived safety of Bitcoin over riskier altcoins.
Timing: Used with price action and on-chain indicators, it helps time entries/exits for altcoin exposure.
Portfolio allocation: Helps decide when to rebalance between BTC and altcoins.

Common patterns in the btc vs altcoin dominance chart

Downtrends: Extended declines in BTC dominance (e.g., 60% → 40%) often correspond with altcoin rallies, DeFi booms, or memecoin cycles.
Sharp rebounds: Quick spikes in dominance often follow market crashes when liquidity concentrates back in BTC.
Range-bound phases: Periods of consolidation where dominance oscillates can signal a market waiting for macro direction.

How to read the chart — practical approach

When you analyze a BTC vs altcoin dominance chart, combine multiple timeframes and confirmation tools:

Weekly trend: Use the weekly chart to identify the dominant market regime (BTC-led vs alt-led).
Daily setup: Look for momentum shifts (MA crosses on dominance, MACD cross, RSI divergences) to time entries.
Volume & price confirmation: Check global crypto market cap and BTC price action. If BTC dominance drops while BTC price is flat or rising, money is likely flowing into altcoins.
On-chain signals: Exchange netflows, realized cap changes, and stablecoin supply can confirm where liquidity is moving.

Simple rule-of-thumb signals

If BTC dominance falls below a prior support level with a surge in altcoin market caps and high volume, consider increasing altcoin exposure.
If BTC dominance rebounds above a trendline or moving average while BTC price is holding up, reduce speculative altcoin risk.
Watch for divergence: if BTC dominance makes a new low but BTC price also makes a new low, the move might be weak — use caution.

Indicators to use with the dominance chart

Popular indicators traders apply directly to BTC dominance (BTC.D) or to a BTC/ALT ratio include:

Moving averages (50/200): Crosses on dominance indicate regime shifts.
MACD: Momentum shifts in dominance can be early warnings for rotations.
RSI: Overbought/oversold and divergence setups on dominance are useful.
On-balance volume (OBV): Confirms whether dominance moves are supported by volume.
BTC/ETH or BTC/Alt pairs: Relative strength analysis between pairs isolates price action from global market cap noise.

Examples from past cycles (real-world context)

Example 1 — 2017 altseason: BTC dominance dropped significantly as ICOs and altcoins exploded. Traders who recognized this shift and rotated profits from BTC into top-performing altcoins often captured outsized returns.

Example 2 — 2020–2021 DeFi + NFT boom: BTC dominance fell as capital poured into DeFi tokens and later NFT-related tokens. Timing entry during early dominance decline and confirming with on-chain activity and TVL growth in DeFi yielded strong gains.

Example 3 — 2022–2023 risk-off: BTC dominance rose as macro risk tightened and altcoins underperformed. Traders who reduced alt exposure before dominance rebounds preserved capital.

Strategy templates using the btc vs altcoin dominance chart

Below are reproducible templates you can adapt to your risk profile. Always backtest and paper-trade before live execution.

1) Defensive rotation strategy

Timeframe: Weekly for regime, daily for entries.
Entry signals: BTC dominance crosses up above the 50-week moving average and BTC price holds above a critical support (e.g., 200-week MA).
Action: Shift 20–50% of altcoin exposure back to BTC or stablecoins.
Exit: Rebalance back to target allocation when BTC dominance reverses below the 50-week MA or after a predefined profit/loss threshold.

2) Aggressive alt-season capture

Timeframe: Weekly for context, 4H–Daily for entries.
Entry signals: BTC dominance makes a lower high and subsequently breaks below a trendline with increasing volume; altcoin market caps and top altcoins show relative strength vs BTC.
Action: Scale into high-conviction altcoins (market leaders and strong fundamentals) while using tight stop-losses.
Risk controls: Use position sizing calculated with a coin price average calculator — for help, see this guide on mastering the average coin price calculator in 2025: Average Coin Price Calculator.

3) Pair trading BTC vs ETH or BTC vs top alt

Setup: Trade BTC/ETH or BTC/ALT pair. If BTC dominance is falling and ETH shows relative strength, consider long ETH/BTC pair.
Use: Integrate with TradingView for pair charts and execution — see an in-depth analysis here: TradingView trading capabilities.

Data sources and tools

You’ll need reliable charts and data feeds. Use these resources:

Dominance charts: CoinMarketCap dominance page or TradingView’s BTC.D symbol for charting.
Price & pair charts: TradingView, Binance charts, and exchange APIs.
On-chain analytics: Glassnode, CryptoQuant for flows and exchange balances.
Market breadth: Number of winners vs losers, token-specific volume, and stablecoin supply.

If you want an exchange to execute trades, consider registering with major platforms. Examples (referral links): Binance registration, MEXC invite, Bitget referral, and Bybit invite.

Technical workflow example (step-by-step)

Open BTC dominance (BTC.D) on TradingView and set up 50 SMA and 200 SMA on weekly timeframe.
Add MACD and RSI on the dominance chart.
Compare BTC price action and total crypto market cap (use CoinMarketCap data).
Check BTC/ETH and BTC/large-alt pairs on daily to spot relative strength.
If dominance breaks key support with rising MACD histogram and altcoin market caps expanding, prepare altcoin buy list and size positions using your allocation rules.
Confirm liquidity and exchange availability for chosen alts. If you need a beginner’s guide to Bybit, see this walkthrough: How Bybit works for beginners.
Execute trades, set stop losses and trailing stops, and monitor dominance for exit signals.

Using dominance in different market phases

Short-term traders might use intraday dominance moves to scalp altcoin breakouts, while swing traders and investors should favor weekly/monthly dominance shifts for larger position changes. Here’s how to tailor approaches by time horizon:

Day traders: Look at 1H–4H dominance movements and pair charts; use tight stops and small sizes.
Swing traders: Use daily/weekly dominance with MACD confirmation; ride multi-week rotations.
Investors: Use dominance as a macro risk gauge; allocate to BTC or stablecoins when dominance rallies and increase alt exposure when dominance trends downward sustainably.

On-chain confirmations and macro signals

To reduce false signals, corroborate dominance moves with on-chain and macro indicators:

Exchange flows: Large BTC inflows to exchanges often precede sell pressure and rising dominance as traders exit alts into BTC or stablecoins.
Stablecoin supply: Growing stablecoin supply (USDT, USDC) signals dry powder for future alt rallies.
Active addresses & transaction counts: Rising activity on alt networks indicates genuine utility-driven flows rather than speculative pumps.
Macro news: Rate decisions, liquidity tightening, or risk-off macro events often push money toward BTC and away from speculative alts.

For a deeper dive into how fees and product-specific costs can affect trading decisions (e.g., selling crypto on non-exchange platforms), you can read this article about Revolut’s crypto fees: Does Revolut charge for selling crypto?

Practical risk management and sizing

Always size positions relative to account equity and expected volatility. Use position-sizing tools and calculators to determine how much to risk per trade. A helpful resource on calculating average entry prices and position sizing is available here: Mastering the Average Coin Price Calculator.

Risk per trade: 0.5%–2% of portfolio for aggressive traders; 0.1%–0.5% for conservative investors.
Stop placement: Use technical levels (structure breaks, ATR-based stops) rather than arbitrary percentages.
Diversification: Limit exposure to a handful of high-conviction alts rather than over-diversifying into weak projects.

Using signals and alerts

Dominance-based strategies often use alerts. You can set dominance alerts on TradingView and pair them with altcoin alerts. If you follow signal services, choose reputable sources and validate signals against the dominance and macro context. For guidance on choosing free signal communities, see this resource: Best free Bitcoin signals (Telegram) — how to choose.

TradingView integration and execution

Many traders chart BTC dominance and alt/fiat pairs on TradingView. If you want to trade directly from TradingView or integrate with brokers/exchanges, learn the platform’s trading capabilities and integrations: Can you trade through TradingView?

Important: TradingView supports selected exchanges for direct order routing. For other exchanges, you may need API integrations or use exchange-native platforms for execution and advanced features.

Practical checklist before you trade altcoins using dominance

Confirm dominance trend on weekly timeframe.
Check daily momentum indicators on BTC.D (MACD/RSI).
Validate altcoin relative strength vs BTC on pair charts.
Confirm on-chain signals (stablecoin supply, exchange flows).
Use position-size calculator to set risk and average entry prices.
Ensure liquidity and listing availability on your chosen exchange (Binance, MEXC, Bitget, Bybit links above).
Set alerts on TradingView for key levels and automatic notification.

Common mistakes to avoid

Relying on dominance alone: Always corroborate with price action, volume, and on-chain metrics.
Chasing late: Entering alts after a large BTC dominance decline without confirmation is risky.
Ignoring liquidity: Low-liquidity altcoins can gap and trap traders.
Poor stop placement: Using overly tight or loose stops without market context increases losses.

Advanced concepts

Relative rotation matrices

Advanced traders build correlation matrices across BTC, ETH, top alts, stablecoins, and derivatives to quantify rotation strength. These matrices reveal whether capital is moving to a concentrated select few alts or broadly across the market.

Derivatives and dominance

Futures funding rates, open interest, and liquidations can amplify rotation signals. For example, heavy leverage on altcoin longs during a BTC dominance decline may produce exaggerated moves and fast reversals. Watch derivatives to determine confidence levels in the rotation.

Sentiment overlays

Combine dominance with sentiment indices (Fear & Greed Index, on-chain sentiment) to assess whether moves are sustainable. Extremely bullish sentiment during early dominance declines can confirm strong manic phases; extreme greed late in a cycle often warns of imminent corrections.

Where to learn more and next steps

If you’re new to exchange platforms or need step-by-step onboarding, check the Bybit beginners guide linked earlier. If you want to practice strategy coding or backtesting, TradingView’s Pine Script and charting tools are very useful — see the TradingView integration analysis for details.

Also review the following authoritative resources for background reading:

Bitcoin — Wikipedia (background on Bitcoin)
CoinMarketCap (dominance and market cap data)
Investopedia — Bitcoin overview

Final checklist: Implementing the dominance approach

Set weekly dominance as your macro filter.
Use daily/4H for timing entries.
Confirm with at least two additional signals (volume, on-chain, pair strength).
Use proper risk sizing (calculator link above) and stop placement.
Prefer liquid altcoins and stagger entries.
Keep a journal and backtest your dominance-based trades for continuous improvement.

Closing thoughts

The btc vs altcoin dominance chart is a high-value macro tool that adds clarity to portfolio allocation and trade timing across market cycles. When combined with price action, volume, on-chain data, and reliable execution platforms, it can materially improve decision-making. Whether you’re preparing for an altseason or protecting gains during a BTC-led market, dominance analysis should be part of your toolkit. For practical trading execution, platform guides and tools mentioned above (Bybit beginner guide, TradingView integration, average price calculators, and signal selection resources) will accelerate your learning and help you apply dominance-based strategies safely and effectively.

Useful links and resources mentioned in this article:

Start by adding BTC dominance to your charts, set a weekly filter, and practice the step-by-step workflow above. Over time you’ll learn how to read market rotations more confidently and align your trading with the broader flows between Bitcoin and altcoins.