Bitcoin Dominance Hits 3-Year High But Faces Historical August-September Slump

Bitcoin’s grip on the cryptocurrency market has tightened, with its average market dominance hitting 59.3% in 2025, marking a third straight year of gains, according to new data from CoinGecko.

The trend points to a more stable and mature phase for the world’s largest digital asset, largely driven by increased institutional participation through products like spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Bitcoin’s market share has seen dramatic changes over the last decade. Between 2013 and 2016, its dominance was , averaging between 83% and 93%.

That changed during the 2017-2018 ICO boom, which introduced a wave of new altcoins that pulled investor attention and capital away from Bitcoin. As a result, its dominance fell to a record low of 31.1% in January 2018. The following years saw a recovery, with dominance hovering in the 60%-70% range through 2020.

Despite the drop, Bitcoin began reclaiming its position in the following years. From 2019 through 2020, dominance hovered between 60% and 70%, supported by the third halving, the rise of DeFi, and growing interest from major institutions.

The years 2021 and 2022 were for Bitcoin dominance. Although prices reached new highs, altcoins outperformed, pushing Bitcoin’s market share down to 38.6%. However, things changed dramatically in 2023. Fueled by regulatory progress and financial products like ETFs, Bitcoin slowly started regaining ground.

By 2025, Bitcoin’s dominance has risen by more than 20 percentage points since 2023. shows daily fluctuations have become milder, with changes now ranging between 1.2% and 1.6%. This is a stark contrast to earlier years when daily swings of up to 16 percentage points were common.

Despite the bullish trend, risks still remain. Historical data from Lookonchain reveals that August and September have been historically bearish for Bitcoin.

In 8 of the last 12 years, prices fell during these months. This gives a 67% chance of seasonal decline.