BTC Dominance Surges To 50% As It Reclaims $27,000 Price Level; Trading Activity Spikes

Bitcoin (BTC), the world's first-ever crypto asset and the largest by market capitalization, gained dominance in the cryptocurrency market by 50% as it reclaimed the $27,000 price level at the start of the week and its trading activity surged.

BTC saw a 2% gain at the start of the week, reviving optimism in the cryptocurrency market after a week of trading below the $26,000 threshold. While the maiden crypto briefly enjoyed the $27,000 price level, it eventually traded back to the $26,000 threshold a few hours later.

The positive trading performance is a reflection of the dominance of Bitcoin in the crypto market, which is a metric used to express the percentage of BTC capitalization in relation to the total digital assets' market cap.

Over the past week, Bitcoin's dominance surged to 50% from 49.5% recorded on Sept. 11.

"A reason for this market movement can be found in the judge's approval in favor of FTX to sell their digital assets. FTX was one of the main digital asset exchanges, before going bankrupt in November 2022. The exchange obtained permission to liquidate $3.4 billion worth of digital assets. The portfolio includes $560 million of Bitcoin (BTC) and $192 million worth of Ethereum (ETH). FTX also holds more than $1 billion worth of Solana (SOL) and other altcoins," Matteo Greco, Research Analyst at the publicly listed digital asset and fintech investment business Fineqia International, told International Business Times.

"While BTC and ETH have enough market participation and liquidity to absorb the potential sale without a serious impact on the price, market participants are worried about the effect of sales regarding less liquid altcoins. This news led to higher selling pressure for altcoins in the last week, compared to BTC, favoring the increase of Bitcoin dominance," Greco said.

BTC's recent performance also revived activities in the market, which abruptly decreased during the summer months, according to the research analyst.

"Market activity seems to be growing again, after an abrupt decrease during the summer months. Cumulative daily volume on centralized exchanges, calculated on a 7-day moving average, surpassed $10b, reaching $11.3 billion in the period from the 10th to the 17th of September. This represents a 19% increase compared to the $9.5 billion recorded 7 days before," Greco said.

However, he warned that despite the resumption of trading activity, the market might see increased volatility again.

"With the end of summer and the resumption of normal trading activity, the market is likely to see increased volatility again, after BTC reaches the minimum volatility levels ever recorded on a 30-day basis during the first two weeks of August. On Wednesday this week, the US Federal Committee will also announce its decision concerning interest rates in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Investors currently expect a 99% probability of no increase in interest rates. The meeting is consequently expected to have no impact on the market, investors have already priced in with certainty that rates remain on hold," the research analyst stated.

Meanwhile, Faraj Abutalibov, Chief Commercial Officer of Venom Foundation, shared his insights on the current market performance of BTC and the broader cryptocurrency industry.

Abutalibov, who is also the founder of Daofund & Crypto Executives, said that investors can use historical data as a guide in trading.

"Investors in the realm of traditional stock picking often emphasize that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future outcomes; nevertheless, historical data serves as our primary reference point," the crypto executive said.

He also underlined that BTC, based on historical data, has been performing weekly during September, over the past decade.

"When we scrutinize Bitcoin's performance over the course of a decade, it becomes evident that September has historically been one of the weaker months, while October has stood out as one of the stronger performers," Abutalibov told IBT.

He predicted that BTC could see an uptrend and could even approach the $30,000 threshold, given the aggressive promotion of mainstream adaptation of crypto through Bitcoin ETFs, as well as the upcoming BTC halving event.

"Considering the persistent efforts by institutional players to promote Bitcoin adoption via ETFs, coupled with the impending Bitcoin halving event, there is a reasonable expectation for a modest upturn in Bitcoin's price trajectory, possibly approaching the $30,000 mark," he predicted.

However, Abutalibov said that "it's crucial to acknowledge, however, that this period leading up to the Bitcoin halving may be marked by heightened volatility, requiring careful monitoring and risk management," adding, "it's prudent to keep a close eye on global macroeconomic trends. A potential increase in the Federal Reserve's interest rates in the United States could exert downward pressure on Bitcoin prices, as investors may pivot towards safer assets like treasuries in search of stability and yield."

As of 4:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, BTC was trading up at $26,824.10 with a 24-hour trading volume up by 96.30% at $15.11 billion, representing a 0.57% spike in the last 24 hours and a 4.2% gain over the past seven days.

Based on the latest data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin's total circulating supply stands at 19.49 million BTC, with its value up by 0.58% to a 522.8 billion market cap.