Bitcoin dominance threatens ‘likely top’ despite BTC price eyeing $45K

Bitcoin (BTC) risks “rolling over” to cancel its latest uptrend, new analysis warns as altcoins surge.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Dec. 9, popular analyst and social media commentator Matthew Hyland flipped cautious on BTC price action.

Bitcoin dominance risks violating key level

Bitcoin bulls kept momentum hot into the end of the week’s Wall Street trading as BTC/USD sealed new 19-month highs of $44,729 on Bitstamp on Dec. 8.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked a subsequent return below the $44,000 mark, with Bitcoin cementing itself in an intraday range.

For Hyland, however, there are more sinister signs that the bull run may be in trouble after robust 60% gains since the start of October.

The smoking gun, he says, lies in Bitcoin’s share of the overall crypto market cap.

“Dominance is rolling over as per the bear divergence that was noted. Has given back all the gains from the move up the other day,” he wrote in the X post.

“If it breaks and closes below 51.81 it would be the first lower low in over a year and an end to the uptrend, along with a likely top put in.”

Hyland referred to the recent spike in Bitcoin dominance, which on Dec. 6 hit 55.26% — its highest level since April 2021. A swift turnaround saw upside progress unwind, with dominance at 53.4% at the time of writing.

Altcoins extend intraday gains

Others believe that such a dominance reversal will allow altcoins to commence a major rally of their own — a phenomenon commonly known as “altseason.”

Related: Price analysis 12/8: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, SOL, ADA, DOGE, AVAX, LINK, MATIC

This looked to be in motion already on the day, with the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap led by Cardano (ADA) and Avalanche (AVAX), which both gained 22% in 24 hours.

Only the largest altcoin, Ether (ETH), was treading water while still being up 12% over the past seven days. ADA and AVAX also constituted the week’s leaders, with gains passing 50%.

“A 2% drop in bitcoin dominance and alts went nuts today,” popular trader Jacob Canfield told X subscribers in part of commentary on Dec. 6.

“Like I said, it’s just a taste. When dominance really starts dropping is when we see the face melting alt season we all know and love.”

The total altcoin market cap was up 2.4% on the day, with December’s month-to-date gains at 18.4%.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.