Bitcoin Dominance is a metric that shows the percentage of the overall cryptocurrency market share held by Bitcoin. 

Getting to know Bitcoin

Introduced in 2009, Bitcoin (BTC) is a digital asset based on the principles of a whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto . Satoshi Nakamoto, an anonymous figure or perhaps a group of anonymous people, is recognized as the creator of Bitcoin.

In contrast to government-regulated fiat currencies, Bitcoin operates on a decentralized concept, providing lower transaction fees than many online payment methods. 

Market Capitalization

Based on market capitalization, Bitcoin is the most valuable cryptocurrency globally, influencing the majority of trading activity on cryptocurrency exchanges. 

Although Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency, its dominance is waning with the emergence of new currencies such as Ethereum.

In 2013, Bitcoin enjoyed a 94% market share when its competitors were still few, and concepts such as ERC-20 tokens and stablecoins did not yet exist. However, the landscape changed in 2017 with the altcoin boom. 

In February 2017, Bitcoin's market dominance fell to 85.4%, with Ethereum (ETH) having a 5.7% share, and Ripple's XRP having 1.1%.

Bitcoin's market share continues to decline as a wave of initial coin offerings (ICOs) increases the overall market value. At the time of this writing, Bitcoin Dominance (BTCD) is 45.23%, and continues to decrease as new coins and tokens enter the cryptocurrency market .

Despite the growing variety of cryptocurrencies, none comes close to Bitcoin's popularity. As a result, the value of other altcoins tends to follow the trend set by Bitcoin in the market. 

Ease of Use as a Transaction

This popularity has increased the acceptance of Bitcoin as a transaction method globally. Transactions can be processed using QR codes with hard terminals or wallet addresses.

Bitcoin can easily be added to existing transaction methods for online businesses, such as credit cards and PayPal.

Closing

Although Bitcoin transactions are recorded on the public network, the identities of buyers and sellers remain unknown, only their wallet addresses are publicly accessible.

This anonymity makes Bitcoin the payment method of choice for those involved in purchasing illegal goods on the internet and is what makes bitcoin subject to criticism from regulatory authorities. 

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DISCLAIMER : This article is informational in nature and is not an offer or invitation to sell or buy any crypto assets. Trading crypto assets is a high-risk activity. Crypto asset prices are volatile, where prices can change randomly