BTC dominance: how it indicates the direction of the market and why ETH/BTC, XRP/BTC are your "beacons"

When you look at the crypto market, there is one simple question: is the money flowing into Bitcoin or into altcoins? The answer is given by BTC dominance — this is the share of the total capitalization of the crypto market that is concentrated in Bitcoin.

What Bitcoin Dominance Shows

Imagine the total market capitalization as a large pie. BTC dominance is the piece of the pie that Bitcoin occupies. At the moment, it is approximately 56-58% of the entire pie.

What does this mean in reality?

• When dominance rises → investors pull money out of altcoins and flee to BTC ( usually during periods of fear or the beginning of a new cycle )
• When dominance falls → the “hunt for risk” begins, altcoins wake up, and money flows there.

ETH/BTC and XRP/BTC: your altcoin season indicators

These pairs work as a barometer of the health of altcoins:

ETH/BTC (Ethereum vs Bitcoin)

• Rise → Ethereum is gaining weight, altcoins are waking up
• Falls → Bitcoin is choking competitors, demand for altcoins is weakening

XRP/BTC (Ripple vs Bitcoin)

• Rise → The demand for liquid altcoins has sharply increased, often this is a signal of the beginning of altseason.
• Fall → Capital flows back into the king of crypto

How it works in practice

Scenario 1: Start of the Bull Market BTC dominance is rising → ETH/BTC and XRP/BTC are stagnating or falling. This is normal. BTC is accumulating money, this is the accumulation stage.

Scenario 2: The altcoin season is about to begin Dominance is starting to fall → ETH/BTC and XRP/BTC break through resistance. This is a signal: investors have taken profits in BTC and are looking for altcoins.

Scenario 3: The market is correcting BTC dominance is sharply rising + both pairs are falling → overall capital outflow or liquidity transition to Bitcoin before the drop.

Technical levels to watch

• Levels on ETH/BTC and XRP/BTC charts — often serve as reversal points
• RSI — indicates overbought/oversold (above 70 = caution, below 30 = possible rebound)
• EMA50 and EMA200 — long-term trend, if the price is above — bullish trend alive

Where to view data

TradingView — all charts, indicators, levels in one place CoinMarketCap/CoinGecko — current dominance, market capitalization, rankings

Just track the dominance of BTC + the movement of ETH/BTC and XRP/BTC in parallel. When these three “signals” coincide — that's when something serious begins.