Bitcoin squeezes smaller rivals to its crown

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Bitcoin is beginning to reassert its dominance over challengers to its cryptocurrency crown. The original digital coin was assailed by thousands of new «altcoin» competitors in 2021 — from solana and polkadot to litecoin and dogecoin — raising the prospect of a rapid fragmentation of the crypto market. Yet bitcoin has stemmed its loss of market share this month, and begun to regain ground, as rattled investors seek the relative safety of the biggest crypto player while they contend with an aggressive Fed and talk of war in Europe.

Did you Know?

Sunny Leone took the lead among Indian actors to secure her digital assets when she broke the news about her association with NFT, two months back. This made her the first Indian actress to mint NFTs

Bitcoin's share of the $1.68 trillion crypto market has risen to about 42%, from 39% two weeks ago — the first time it has registered an increase since dropping from a peak of 46% in mid-October, according to data from CoinMarketCap which tracks 17,225 cryptocurrencies across 458 exchanges. Market players caution that it's too early to call a trend, and note that while bitcoin has outperformed the industry, the entire crypto market has fallen this month. Nonetheless, some say 13-year-old bitcoin could continue to benefit versus its crypto rivals from the more cautious investment climate. «If risk-off persists, bitcoin will suck up the liquidity in crypto markets,» said Matthew Dibb, chief operating officer of Singapore-based crypto fund distributor Stack Funds. While most cryptocurrencies still take their price cues from bitcoin, some fund managers expect a gradual divergence, or decoupling, this year that will require more discrimination. «While many casual