Overview of the 12-year historical evolution of Bitcoin market share

Bitcoin has dominated the cryptocurrency market for as long as 8 years, and its current market share is hovering around the 12-year average.

Author: Coingecko

Compiler: Felix, PANews

This study examines Bitcoin's daily market share from April 29, 2013, to July 22, 2025, with data sourced from CoinGecko.

How has Bitcoin's market share evolved over the years?

Over the 12 years from 2013 to 2025, Bitcoin's market share in the cryptocurrency market has fluctuated significantly, ranging between a historical low of 31.1% and an early high of 99.1%. During this period, Bitcoin's daily market share remained at 50.0% or higher for two-thirds of the time. In other words, over these 12 years, Bitcoin has dominated the cryptocurrency market for as long as 8 years.

On an annual basis, Bitcoin's average daily market share declined for five consecutive years, dropping from 93.3% in 2013 to 44.6% in 2018. It rebounded to 60.2% in 2019, 62.7% in 2020, then fell again to 47.6% in 2021 and 39.3% in 2022.

Since 2023, Bitcoin's market share has been rising steadily again, with an annual average of 45.6% in 2023, 51.9% in 2024, and 59.3% so far in 2025. This means that Bitcoin's market share in 2025 is currently hovering around the 12-year daily average of 62.5%.

Bitcoin's market share is currently hovering around the 12-year average of 62.5%

An overview of the 12-year historical evolution of Bitcoin's market share

Statistics date: April 29, 2013, to July 22, 2025

Key levels of Bitcoin's market share

Since February 2016, Bitcoin's market share has been well below 90%. This reflects a turning point in the maturation of the cryptocurrency market following the 2017 ICO boom and the first altcoin bull market, when the number of major altcoins increased and their market capitalizations grew.

Similarly, after barely registering 70.7% on January 3, 2021, Bitcoin's market share declined and has remained below 70%. This means that over the past 12 years, Bitcoin's average daily market share has reached 70% or higher only one-third of the time. It remains to be seen whether Bitcoin's market share will break through the 70.0% threshold again.

Notably, on April 7, 2025, Bitcoin's market share rose to 60.5%, the first time it has exceeded the 60% threshold in more than four years. The last time Bitcoin's market share exceeded this threshold was on March 15, 2021, when it reached 60.6%. Over the past 12 years, Bitcoin's market share has been below 60.0% for more than half of the time.

The historical development of Bitcoin's market share (2013 - 2025)

The annual average, minimum, and maximum values of Bitcoin's market share from 2013 to 2025 are as follows.

An overview of the 12-year historical evolution of Bitcoin's market share

2013 to 2016: Bitcoin monopolizes the cryptocurrency market

From 2013 to 2016, Bitcoin dominated the cryptocurrency market, with its average daily market share ranging from 82.6% to 93.3% per year. During this emerging period, despite corrections in Bitcoin's price and the first major U.S. regulatory action against the then Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, Bitcoin's market share in the crypto sector peaked at 99.1% on May 29, 2013.

Although Bitcoin accounted for the vast majority of the cryptocurrency market, its market share experienced three of the largest fluctuations during this period:

On March 29, 2014, Bitcoin's market share dropped by 10.9 percentage points from the previous day, falling from 89.6% to 78.7%. This occurred after the collapse of Mt. Gox and can be attributed to a sharp rise and subsequent correction in the total cryptocurrency market capitalization.

On January 15, 2015, Bitcoin's market share plummeted by 16.2 percentage points, from 80.2% to 64.0%. This sharp drop was driven by Bitcoin's price falling from $221 the previous day to $172, marking the bear market bottom after the hacking of the centralized exchange Bitstamp.

On January 16, 2015, Bitcoin's market share rebounded to 80.7%, up 16.7 percentage points from the previous day, while Bitcoin's price also rebounded to $211.

2017 to 2018: ICOs and altcoins overshadow Bitcoin

Over the next two years, Bitcoin's market share further declined, hitting new lows well below the 80% and 70% thresholds during the 2017 ICO-driven altcoin bull market and the 2018 bear market. On May 16, 2017, Bitcoin fell below 50% for the first time, reaching 48.5%. Notably, on January 16, 2018, Bitcoin's market share hit an all-time low of 31.1% as its price plummeted from $14,412 to $11,724.

Over the past 12 years, Bitcoin's market share was most volatile in 2017, starting the year at 87.2% and more than halving to 37.6% by June 19. In the second half of the year, Bitcoin's market share rose briefly, then fell to an annual low of 37.5%, before rebounding to 66% on December 7 and finally closing the year at 38.9%.

On the other hand, Bitcoin's market share in 2018 showed an overall upward trend, growing from 37.4% at the beginning of the year to 52% at the end of the year.

2019 to 2020: Bitcoin regains dominance amid the third halving

In 2019 and 2020, Bitcoin reclaimed dominance in the cryptocurrency market, with its share remaining between 48.8% and 72.5%. Bitcoin's resurgence during this period was driven by a combination of factors: primarily expectations for the third Bitcoin halving in May 2020, a return to quality assets by investors after the ICO boom, early institutional interest in Bitcoin as "digital gold," and Bitcoin's role as a deposit window during the 2020 "DeFi Summer."

2021 to 2022: Altcoins regain influence

During the 2021 bull market and the 2022 pandemic-induced crash, Bitcoin's market share continued to decline by 30.9 percentage points, from 69.5% to 38.6%. Over these two years, Bitcoin's market share declined as altcoins gradually established themselves and began to exert greater influence in the cryptocurrency market.

During this period, Bitcoin's share of the cryptocurrency market was below 50% on 8 out of every 10 days. That is, out of 730 days, Bitcoin's market share was below 50.0% on 624 days.

Specifically, in 2021, despite Bitcoin's price rising from $29,022 to an all-time high and closing the year at $47,192, an increase of 62.6%, Bitcoin's market share still fell from 69.5% at the beginning of the year to 38.2% at the end of the year. In contrast, over the same period, the total market capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency market outperformed Bitcoin, surging from $776.4 billion to $2.3 trillion, an increase of 200.6%.

In 2022, Bitcoin's market share started at 37.9% and ended at 38.6% as Bitcoin's price fell by 64.2%, in line with the 64.1% decline in the entire cryptocurrency market. In other words, Bitcoin itself was directly affected by the Terra-Luna and FTX collapses, with investors turning to fiat currencies to reduce risk.

2023 to 2025: Bitcoin goes mainstream

Over the past three years, Bitcoin's market share has risen steadily, from 38.4% at the beginning of 2023 to 58.5% so far in 2025. The recovery in Bitcoin's market share reflects a structural shift in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin gaining mainstream acceptance and institutional adoption thanks to the approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and a clearer regulatory environment following the FTX collapse.

Notably, Bitcoin's market share has become more stable, with smaller changes ranging from -1.2 percentage points to +1.6 percentage points. In contrast, between 2013 and 2016, Bitcoin's market share fluctuated between -16.2 percentage points and +16.7 percentage points; while between 2017 and 2022, the range was between -8.8 percentage points and +7.0 percentage points.

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