Bitcoin Dominance Climbs Near 60% as Altcoins Slide in Selloff

Bitcoin’s share of the cryptocurrency market rose toward 60% on Oct. 8 as a selloff pushed major altcoins lower at a faster pace than Bitcoin.

Bitcoin dominance reached 59.63% at 2:26 p.m. ET (18:26 UTC), while another reading showed 59.54% at 12:41 p.m. ET (16:41 UTC). The measure tracks Bitcoin’s market capitalization as a percentage of the total cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin traded near $81,100 after falling to an intraday low of $80,900. It was down 2.8% over 24 hours at 1:35 p.m. ET.

Ether (ETH) and XRP each fell about 5.5% at that measurement time, trading near $2,400 and $1.35, respectively. Over 24 hours on Oct. 8, Solana (SOL) fell 9.2% to about $106.21, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined 8.3% and Zcash (ZEC) dropped about 14%.

Bitcoin dominance can rise even when Bitcoin’s price falls if altcoins lose value more quickly or if capital leaves smaller digital assets. The increase therefore reflects relative market performance rather than a gain in Bitcoin’s price.

Liquidation totals varied by measurement time. The market recorded $974 million in liquidations, including $896 million from long positions, at 1:35 p.m. ET. Another reading exceeded $1.1 billion at 1:44 p.m. ET, with Ether accounting for $333 million in asset-level liquidations. A separate count reached nearly $900 million and included more than 150,000 liquidated traders at 12:07 p.m. ET (16:07 UTC).

The move reverses the direction described in earlier coverage of falling Bitcoin dominance, when stronger weekly gains among altcoins pushed Bitcoin’s market share down to 56.5%.