Bitcoin Dominance Decline Could Signal Altcoin Gains

According to CryptoPotato, Bitcoin's dominance recently hit local highs, topping 54%, while its price reached a 19-month high. However, a minor retreat in the metric and a potential BTC correction could be good news for altcoins. On Dec. 4, crypto trader Jacob Canfield commented on the dominance decline and potential for altcoin moves, stating that this could mean a nice couple of days of big altcoin moves. BTC prices have surged almost 14% over the past week, but altcoins have not really followed. Still, it may be early for altcoins. Many analysts are sharing charts of the total market capitalization minus BTC, which shows all other crypto assets, including stablecoins, and remains in the accumulation zone. Trader and investor “EliZ” shared a chart, noting that it was approaching resistance and on the verge of a breakout. On Dec. 4, analyst “Income Sharks” commented on the same chart, stating that missing out on a 9% move on Bitcoin won't sting as much when some altcoins and microcaps make a 900% move. Moreover, many of the high-cap altcoins are still way down from their peaks. Ripple, Cardano, Dogecoin, Avalanche, and Polkadot are all more than 80% down from their all-time highs. Solana, Chainlink, and Polygon are still more than 70% down despite recent gains. Bitcoiner Jimmy Song compared altcoin prices to the last time BTC was above $40,000, which was in May 2022. Most of them were much higher than today's levels, but the bear market was intensifying at the time, and it was just before the Terra/Luna collapse, so it was not the best of comparisons. Crypto markets have remained flat on the day, with total capitalization pausing at $1.61 trillion. Bitcoin has reached resistance and was trading at $41,709 at the time of writing. However, nearly all of the leading altcoins were in the red again, with 2-4% declines. There were larger losses for Solana, Chainlink, Polygon, and THORChain. Bitcoin smart contract protocol Stacks (STX) were bucking the trend, surging 33% on the day.