Three years ago, the total market capitalization of the crypto market exceeded $3 trillion, with Luna, Litecoin, and Polkadot ranking in the top 15 by market cap. At that time, the crypto market reached a historic peak that remains unbeaten to this day — the current market cap is around $2.4 trillion.
While the TVL in DeFi has significantly declined during this period — from $155 billion to $89 billion — Bitcoin has shown steady growth, with its market cap increasing by $100 billion since October 2021.
This trend indicates that the crypto market has grown mainly due to Bitcoin over the past three years, with Bitcoin’s dominance rising nearly 40% since the end of 2021. At the same time, many top altcoins have lost a significant portion of their market value: Ethereum dropped by 43%, BNB by 20%, and Polkadot by nearly 90%.
The only altcoin that has strengthened its position is Solana, whose market cap grew by 8% over the past three years, despite facing a crisis after the collapse of FTX.
For altcoins to regain their positions, a new altcoin season is necessary to balance Bitcoin’s current dominance.
