Bitcoin‘s market dominance, which measures the proportion of the total cryptocurrency market cap attributed to Bitcoin, has exceeded 50% for the first time in two years. This surge in market dominance is largely due to investors turning to Bitcoin as a safe haven amidst regulatory scrutiny of the crypto industry in the United States and the recent FTX crisis. The measure has grown by over 10.5% since November 2022, when it stood at just under 40%, representing a significant increase in demand for Bitcoin as investors seek a stable asset in uncertain times.
As of June 19 at 6 pm UTC, Bitcoin’s dominance hit just above 50% and has since settled to 49.9% at the time of publication, according to data from TradingView. This means that Bitcoin alone accounts for half of the total $1.1 trillion dollar market capitalization of the entire crypto market. Bitcoin’s current market capitalization stands at $519 billion, according to data from Coingecko. It is worth noting that while Bitcoin’s dominance has increased significantly over the past eight months, Ether’s market dominance has been holding steady around the 20% mark for the better part of a year.
MicroStrategy co-founder and outspoken Bitcoin enthusiast Michael Saylor believes that Bitcoin’s market dominance will continue to grow, eventually topping 80% in the coming years. He attributes this forecast to increasing regulatory pressure from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) causing Stablecoins and other crypto assets to “go away.” Saylor believes that regulatory clarity will drive Bitcoin adoption by eliminating the confusion and anxiety holding back institutional investors and that the crypto industry will rationalize around Bitcoin as it goes mainstream.
Saylor also blamed the lack of any “mega institutional money” entering the crypto space on the “confusion and anxiety” brought about by the 25,000 other cryptocurrencies that have positioned themselves as alternatives to Bitcoin. He believes the entire industry is destined to be rationalized down to a Bitcoin-focused industry, with maybe half a dozen to a dozen other Proof of Work tokens.
Investment firm Blackrock’s filing for a Bitcoin spot ETF is also believed to have contributed to the recent upward price action of Bitcoin. The value of Bitcoin has grown more than 3% over the course of the last week despite “fear” in the crypto market reaching its highest point in three months. Crypto research firm Santiment also points to Blackrock’s filing as one of the major drivers of Bitcoin’s recent price action.
Source: Cointelegraph
