Bitcoin dominance falls below 60%, signaling potential altcoin season

Bitcoin's grip on the crypto market is loosening. BTC dominance, the metric tracking Bitcoin's share of total cryptocurrency market value, has slipped to 58.5% as of September 26, after failing to hold above the psychologically important 60% threshold.

Glassnode's Altcoin Cycle Signal, which measures conditions favorable for altcoin outperformance on a 0 to 100 scale, hit 81.25 on September 22.

The altcoin market cap, excluding Bitcoin, has climbed to roughly $1.17 to $1.19 trillion in late September. That represents a 33% increase since mid-August.

Bitcoin itself has been trading around $84,000, following a brief push toward the $86,000 to $87,000 range. The total crypto market cap has reclaimed $3 trillion.

Yet the Altcoin Season Index, a separate gauge that tracks whether altcoins are broadly outperforming Bitcoin, has remained in the neutral-to-Bitcoin-led zone. Recent readings have landed between 45 and 53, well below the 75 threshold that would confirm a full-blown altseason.

In 2017 and 2021, declining Bitcoin dominance was the starting gun for explosive altcoin rallies. During those cycles, BTC dominance fell from above 60% to 70% all the way down into the 40% to 50% range as capital flooded into altcoins.