Bitcoin Surpasses $68K with Peak Market Dominance Amid Ether’s Decline

Cryptonews Nia Simpson October 17, 2024

Bitcoin Surpasses $68K with Peak Market Dominance Amid Ether’s Decline

Bitcoin has reached $68,000 with a market dominance of 58.91%, primarily driven by Ether’s underperformance. Over the past week, Bitcoin gained over 12%, while Ether has outperformed Bitcoin in only seven of the last 23 months, indicating a significant shift in market dynamics.

In recent developments within the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin has surpassed the $68,000 mark, marking a significant milestone as its dominance over the market reaches a new cycle high of 58.91%, a level last recorded in April 2021. This increase in Bitcoin’s market share has been attributed to the notable underperformance of Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. On a week-over-week basis, Bitcoin (BTC) has shown a remarkable gain of over 12%; in contrast, the broader CoinDesk 20 Index has risen by a lesser 9%. Bitcoin’s dominance escalated from 57.13% at the beginning of October. At present, the total crypto market capitalization stands at approximately $2.281 trillion, with Bitcoin accounting for $940 billion when excluded from the analysis. Historically, Bitcoin dominance surged above 70% during the bullish market phase of 2020 to 2021, subsequently dwindling to about 40% by mid-2021. This trend of dominance experienced significant fluctuations, particularly following the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange towards the end of 2022. Since then, a gradual increase in dominance has been observed. Moreover, the Ether to Bitcoin ratio, currently hovering around 0.03850, has dwindled significantly, reaching its lowest level since April 2021. An analysis of the ETH/BTC ratio, particularly since the cycle low in June 2022, indicates a series of decreasing lows. In previous market cycles from 2016 to 2019 and 2019 to 2022, the ratio was notably higher from the cycle lows at this stage. However, the presently observed ratio falls 25% short of its June 2022 cycle low, emphasizing Ether’s underperformance relative to Bitcoin. Notably, Ether has outperformed Bitcoin in only seven of the last 23 months, with its last month of relative outperformance being recorded in May 2024.

The cryptocurrency market has undergone significant transformations since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009. Bitcoin, as the first cryptocurrency, often sets the benchmark for the overall performance of the market. Cryptocurrency dominance is a key indicator used to assess how much of the total market capitalization is represented by Bitcoin relative to its peers, especially Ethereum (ETH). This article explores the latest trends in Bitcoin’s market performance, highlighting its dominance amid the fluctuating landscape influenced by Ether’s relative underperformance.

In summary, Bitcoin has achieved a noteworthy milestone, surpassing $68,000, with its market dominance reaching levels unseen since April 2021. This achievement coincides with Ether’s decline relative to Bitcoin. As Bitcoin’s dominance reinforces its leadership in the cryptocurrency space, the contrasting performance of Ether calls for close scrutiny of market dynamics moving forward. This analysis underlines the importance of monitoring these trends as the crypto markets evolve in response to various internal and external factors.

Original Source: www.coindesk.com