Dominance in the context of cryptocurrency typically refers to Bitcoin Dominance (BTC Dominance), a measure of how much of the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies is made up by Bitcoin.
The concept came about because for many years, Bitcoin was the dominant cryptocurrency by a wide margin, with most other cryptocurrencies, termed altcoins, holding only a small percentage of the total market cap. Therefore, a high Bitcoin Dominance percentage signifies that the majority of the cryptocurrency market cap is held by Bitcoin.
However, dominance can also be used to describe the relative market cap of any cryptocurrency compared to the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies. For example, if you were to talk about “Ethereum dominance”, you would be referring to how much of the total crypto market cap is made up by Ethereum.
In practical terms, high Bitcoin Dominance is often associated with a weakening of altcoins, as it suggests that more money is flowing into Bitcoin than into altcoins. Conversely, low Bitcoin Dominance can suggest that altcoins are doing well, as it implies that a larger percentage of the money in the crypto market is being put into these coins instead of Bitcoin.
Of course, these general trends are not hard-and-fast rules, and the specifics can depend on many factors such as broader market conditions, technological advancements, and regulatory developments.