As bitcoin leads market money flows and pushes its share of the cryptocurrency market above 61 percent, the share of altcoin trading has recently increased, gradually broadening participation in the market.
On May 6, Cointelegraph reported that bitcoin dominance stood at 61 percent as of Wednesday, setting its highest level since November 2025. It has risen steadily from 58.44 percent in early April, showing the current bullish trend remains focused on bitcoin.
At the same time, TOTAL3, an indicator of the market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies excluding bitcoin and ether, rose to $765 billion, its highest in two months. Altcoin trading volumes on major exchanges also surged, with clear signs of a rebound beginning to emerge in the altcoin market.
A closer look at the indicators confirms that activity in the altcoin market is gradually increasing. CryptoQuant data showed the share of altcoin trading volume on Binance rose to 49 percent recently from around 31 percent on March 3. That suggests investor participation is expanding to other assets after months in which capital was concentrated only in bitcoin and ether. Another positive signal is that 12.6 percent of altcoins listed on Binance regained their 200-day simple moving average (SMA), laying the groundwork for a technical rebound.
Experts analysed that bitcoin has provided upward momentum for the overall market after rising about 36 percent from its early-February low of $60,000. Altcoins are still recovering more slowly than bitcoin, but they are focusing on a steady increase in trading activity on centralised exchanges (CEX). The share of trading volume in altcoins excluding the top 5 cryptocurrencies has continued to increase over recent weeks, which is seen as evidence that investor interest in assets other than bitcoin is reviving.
The AltSeason Index, which measures overall altcoin performance, also recovered at its fastest pace in months to 28.6. While it remains below 75, which would indicate a full-fledged altcoin bull market, it appears to have moved beyond the worst of the slump.
Average altcoin prices are trading about 23.47 percent below their 200-day simple moving average, a sharp improvement from the gap that widened to as much as 44.4 percent early in the cycle. This movement is increasingly being analysed as similar to patterns seen in the final stage of the 2022 bear market.
In conclusion, the cryptocurrency market is seeing bitcoin maintain a strong lead while altcoins regain strength and trading activity increases on multiple fronts. While it has yet to reach the aggressive rotation phase experienced in early 2024, industry attention is focused on whether the trickle-down effect of capital will accelerate as key indicators improve across the board.
