BTC Market Share Declines Against Expectations During 30% Price Slump

Bitcoin Drops 36% in Fast Correction Amid Unusual Dominance Shift

Bitcoin (BTC) has now experienced three corrections of 30% or more in the current cycle, but the latest pullback is notable for its unusual effect on BTC dominance. Unlike typical sell-offs, bitcoin’s market share fell rather than increased, breaking from historical patterns.

BTC declined to nearly $80,000 last week, a 36% drop from October’s all-time high above $126,000. The correction occurred amid a broad crypto market deleveraging, with altcoins showing relative resilience.

Bitcoin dominance, which measures BTC’s share of the total crypto market, usually rises during sell-offs as riskier altcoins fall faster. This pattern held in October, but since early November, dominance has slipped. Even during BTC’s recent rally to $90,000, dominance fell from 61% to as low as 58.5%, recovering slightly to just over 59%. In most risk-off environments, dominance typically climbs more sharply.

Previous corrections highlight the contrast. During the February–May “tariff tantrum,” dominance rose from 58% to 65%, and during the August 2024 yen carry-trade unwind, it climbed from 56% to 60%. In comparison, the current pullback saw a smaller dominance increase, indicating that bitcoin was hit harder than the broader crypto market.

The speed of the decline also sets this correction apart. The current drawdown lasted just 47 days from peak to trough, versus 77 days during the tariff tantrum and 146 days in 2024, amplifying market fear.

Overall, the rapid price drop and unusual decline in bitcoin dominance suggest that this correction diverged from prior patterns in the cycle. As bitcoin approaches the end of its typical four-year cycle, falling dominance raises questions about potential further weakness ahead.