Key Points
- Bitcoin’s popularity is currently a fraction of what it was in March 2024, despite bullish market signals.
- Bitcoin’s dominance in the crypto market is key to understanding capital flow and predicting altcoin performance.
Bitcoin’s [BTC] market sentiment is showing signs of turning bullish, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index standing at 63. This indicates a predominant sense of greed in the market following BTC’s surge past the $64k resistance zone.
Popularity Versus Market Performance
Despite the crypto community’s excitement, interest from the broader market remains minimal. This is evidenced by the term “Bitcoin” on Google Trends, which reached peak popularity in the first half of 2021. The rally from last October to March 2024 saw BTC popularity reach a score of 58, compared to last week’s score of 20. This suggests that Bitcoin searches are only a third of what they were earlier this year, even as the king of crypto trades just 11% below its all-time high.
Bitcoin Dominance and Capital Flow
The total crypto market capitalization currently stands at $2.3 trillion, with Bitcoin’s share of the total market cap at 57.66%. The BTC.D chart, which typically has an inverse correlation with altcoin performance, outlines the 60% area as a resistance zone. A decrease in BTC.D suggests that the altcoin market cap is rising faster than BTC’s, a positive development for the alt market.
Long-term investors can use this dominance chart to understand whether Bitcoin or altcoins are the market’s focus at any given time.
The market capitalization of the top crypto assets excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) has broken out past a descending channel formation, breaching the 50% Fibonacci retracement level from the 2020 bull run. This sets the stage for a strong performance from altcoins in the coming months. From a technical perspective and looking at historic trends, the crypto market is expected to trend upward over the next 3-6 months.