Bitcoin Devours Altcoins Hitting 59% Dominance as Whale Activity Surges

On Oct. 17, om-chain analytics platform Santiment reported that Bitcoin whale transactions have spiked to their highest level in over ten weeks.

There were 11,697 transfers worth more than $100,000 on Oct. 15 and the 16th was also shaping up to be a high day for whale activity.

The platform also noted that social media content has “veered heavily toward BTC over altcoins,” making up over a quarter of all discussions.

Bitcoin Dominance Peaks

Santiment concluded that these two signals are signs that “the rally may be on hold due to key stakeholder profit taking and high crowd FOMO.” Long-term metrics are looking bullish so any pullback is likely to be short, it added.

Market sentiment has also slipped back to “greed,”  according to the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index, which reached 73 on Wednesday, the highest since late July. Another consequence of this week’s market rally is a multi-year high for Bitcoin dominance.

The metric hit a three-and-a-half-year high of 58.98% on Oct. 16, according to Tradingview. It is the largest market share the asset has had since April 2021.

In a post on X on Oct. 16, ITC Crypto founder Benjamin Cowen predicted that Bitcoin dominance would peak at around 60% between now and December before falling in 2025.

“I think it is more likely to overshoot 60% than not make it there,” he added, referring to altcoin/BTC pairs remaining weak.

Industry advisor Dan Held said that the breakout has occurred “as buyers exhaust sellers.” He added that the macro fundamentals were “incredible,” liquidity was about to flood the market, and most of the FUD from exchange distributions and government selling had been wiped away.

“Once we break all-time highs, retail piles in, and then we officially have a bull run.”

BTC Price Outlook

Bitcoin hit a ten-week high of $68,250 on Oct. 16 propelling its weekly gains to 11%. It retreated to trade at $67,400 during the Thursday morning Asian session, but momentum remains.

The asset is now just $1,500 away from the psychological level of its previous bull run peak of $69,000 in late 2021.

Analyst ‘Rekt Capital’ also believes that the sideways/downtrend has now been broken with this latest higher high.

Meanwhile, most altcoins remain flat or in the red again as Bitcoin continues to devour them and increase its own slice of the crypto market pie.