BTC Dominance vs Altcoin Season Index
Bitcoin Dominance and the Altcoin Season Index are the two most-cited indicators for crypto-market rotation. Both measure BTC-vs-alts dynamics, but they capture different dimensions: Dominance is a stock measure (where capital sits now), the Altcoin Season Index is a flow measure (which way capital has been moving over the last 90 days). This page explains how the two relate, when each leads, and what their divergence patterns mean. Each indicator has its own dedicated live tool linked below.
The two live tools
Bitcoin Dominance Chart
BTC market cap as a percentage of total crypto market cap, monthly from 2014 onwards. Interactive hover, all-time-high and all-time-low markers, 1-month and 12-month change indicators, fullscreen view.
Open the Dominance chart →Altcoin Season Index
Percentage of top-50 altcoins outperforming BTC over the trailing 90 days, live. Gradient gauge with classification headline, historical statistics, interactive history chart with Month / Year toggle, fullscreen view.
Open the Altseason Index →Stock vs flow: the foundational distinction
The key to using these two indicators together is understanding what each one measures:
- Bitcoin Dominance is a stock measure. It is a snapshot of where capital currently sits in the crypto market. The number you read at any moment reflects total market caps as they stand right now. It says nothing about how fast capital is moving or in which direction.
- The Altcoin Season Index is a flow measure. It is a count of how many top-50 alts have outperformed BTC over a defined recent window (90 days). The number you read reflects momentum over that window, not the current state of capital allocation.
An analogy: dominance is a thermometer reading (the current temperature), the altseason index is a weather-report rate of change (how fast the temperature has been moving over the last 90 days). Both are useful, both tell you something different about the same underlying system.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | BTC Dominance | Altcoin Season Index |
|---|---|---|
| Measure type | Stock (snapshot) | Flow (momentum) |
| Time window | Instantaneous | Trailing 90 days |
| Computed from | Total market caps | Per-coin price changes |
| Range | 0 to 100 (typically 35 to 70) | 0 to 100 (bounded by construction) |
| Bullish for alts when | Falling | Above 50, rising |
| Bullish for BTC when | Rising | Below 50, falling |
| Excludes stablecoins? | No (standard) / Yes (advanced versions) | Yes (always) |
| Notable extremes | 2018-01 low (33%); 2014 ATH (93%) | Late 2017 highs (90+); early 2019 lows (15-22) |
| Convention origin | Tracked since Bitcoin's earliest days | BlockchainCenter (2020) |
| Best for | Cycle positioning, long-term holders | Rotation timing, active traders |
| Live tool | Bitcoin Dominance Chart | Altcoin Season Index |
Divergence patterns (where the read gets interesting)
Most of the time, dominance and the altseason index move in roughly inverse correlation: when alts outperform BTC, the altseason index rises and dominance falls, and vice versa. The interesting reads happen when they diverge:
- Stable dominance + rising altseason index. Alts are quietly accumulating against BTC without producing a single dominant winner that materially shifts the dominance ratio. Often precedes a full Altcoin Season classification. A leading signal for rotation if you catch it early.
- Falling dominance + altseason index still below 50. Capital is flowing into a small number of large-cap alts (typically ETH plus a couple of others) which pulls dominance down without lifting the broad-50 index. Common in early bull phases. Says "the ETH trade is on" rather than "broad altseason is here".
- Rising dominance + altseason index rising slightly. BTC making new highs while most alts also rising in dollar terms, just not as fast. Typical of clean BTC-led bull phases. Reads as bullish for the whole market, but BTC is the leader.
- Stable dominance + altseason index falling. Alts under-performing BTC but not enough to materially shift dominance. Often a sign of mid-cycle rotation away from alts back into BTC. The cleanest read for "the BTC-led leg is reasserting itself".
How to use them together
- Read dominance first for cycle position. Where in the historical 33-93 percent range is the current dominance? Is it trending up or down over the last 12 months? This anchors your view of cycle phase.
- Read the altseason index for direction. Where is it on the 0-100 scale? Has it been rising or falling over the last 30 days? This tells you the momentum side of the rotation.
- Check for divergence. Are the two indicators saying the same thing or contradicting each other? Divergence is information; it often signals early-cycle rotation or impending reversals.
- Cross-reference with absolute-price indicators. Dominance and the altseason index are rotation indicators only. Combine with the Logarithmic Regression Bands, the Pi Cycle Top, or the Risk Metric to anchor where BTC sits in absolute price terms.
- Plan tax around rotation events. Any rotation that triggers a sale in Australia is a CGT event. Use the Crypto CGT Calculator to estimate after-tax proceeds before you transact.
Related tools
- Bitcoin Dominance Chart - the live stock-measure tool with monthly history from 2014.
- Altcoin Season Index - the live flow-measure tool with interactive historical chart.
- Bitcoin Log Regression Bands (AUD) - long-run absolute-price reference for cycle positioning.
- Bitcoin Rainbow Chart (AUD) - sentiment-labelled version of the log regression.
- Bitcoin Risk Metric (AUD) - 0-1 cycle positioning score.
- Bitcoin Pi Cycle Top Indicator (AUD) - top-zone signal.
- Crypto CGT Calculator - apply the ATO 50 percent discount to any rotation that triggers a CGT event.
- Crypto Exit Strategy Ladder - rules-based exit plan that can be anchored to rotation indicators.
Frequently asked questions
Bitcoin Dominance is a stock measure: BTC's market capitalisation as a percentage of total crypto market capitalisation, snapshot at the moment. The Altcoin Season Index is a flow measure: the percentage of top-50 altcoins that have outperformed Bitcoin over the trailing 90 days, capturing momentum rather than position. Dominance answers 'where is the market right now?'; the Altcoin Season Index answers 'which way has the market been moving lately?'
Both. They complement each other and are most informative read together. Dominance gives you absolute position in the cycle; the Altcoin Season Index gives you the direction of rotation. The most common professional approach is to anchor your view of cycle phase with Dominance and time alt-rotation decisions with the Altcoin Season Index, while cross-referencing with absolute-price indicators like the Logarithmic Regression Bands or the Pi Cycle Top for confirmation.
Usually yes (rising dominance correlates with falling altseason index, and vice versa), but they can diverge. Common divergence patterns: stable dominance plus rising altseason index (alts quietly accumulating against BTC, often precedes a full Altcoin Season); falling dominance plus altseason index still below 50 (capital flowing into a small number of dominant alts pulling dominance down without lifting the broad-50 index); rising dominance plus altseason index also rising slightly (BTC outperforming but most alts still up in dollar terms, typical of clean BTC-led bull phases).
They are distinct tools serving distinct intents. Bitcoin Dominance is searched as a standalone query by cycle positioners and long-term holders; the Altcoin Season Index is searched as a standalone query by rotation traders and altcoin holders. Each gets its own dedicated page with focused content, schema, and FAQ optimised for that specific intent. This page exists for users searching the comparison query ('BTC dominance vs altcoin season') or those who want both indicators reasoned about together.
Bitcoin Dominance is published by TradingView (CRYPTOCAP:BTC.D ticker), CoinMarketCap, and CoinGecko. The convention dates back to Bitcoin's earliest tracking. The Altcoin Season Index convention was popularised by BlockchainCenter around 2020 and has been adopted by Bitbo, Lookintobitcoin, and most major crypto analytics platforms. The 75 threshold for Altcoin Season and the 25 threshold for Bitcoin Season are the BlockchainCenter conventions.
Standard BTC Dominance (the version published by TradingView and used by both this page's tools) includes stablecoins in the denominator. Some analysts use a stablecoin-excluded version which typically reads 5 to 10 percentage points higher. The Altcoin Season Index explicitly EXCLUDES stablecoins from the evaluation set (otherwise the index would mechanically inflate toward 0 whenever BTC is up and toward 100 whenever BTC is down, because stablecoin returns are always near zero).
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