Bitcoin Hits $81K and Altcoin Volume Is Quietly Recovering — Here Is What the Data Shows




 Bitcoin just crossed $81,000, and most headlines are stopping there. But two charts circulating this week from CryptoQuant tell a more layered story about what is happening underneath the surface.

CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost shared data on May 5 showing that Bitcoin has gained around 36% since its February 6 low. Dominance climbed above 61.3%, a level not recorded since November 2025. That much is widely reported.

What is getting less attention is the altcoin volume shift. According to the same data, altcoins' share of Binance trading volume relative to BTC and ETH combined moved from 31% all the way to 49% over the past two months. That is not a small change. It means altcoin trading activity has nearly caught up to Bitcoin and Ethereum volumes combined on the world's largest exchange.

There is also a technical signal worth noting. The percentage of Binance-listed altcoins trading above their 200-day moving average went from 2.3% on February 6 to 11.7% now. That number is still low historically, but it is the first break in a downtrend that had been running since October 2025.

A chart by analyst Joao Wedson going back to 2018 puts this in context. Prior cycle recoveries typically saw this breadth reading move from similar depressed levels before accelerating. The current pace is slower than past episodes but the direction has shifted.

The key question for the weeks ahead is whether BTC dominance starts to compress as altcoin volume continues climbing. That compression has not started yet. Dominance is holding above 61.3% even as volumes recover across altcoins.

For a full breakdown of both charts, the volume data, and what the 200-day SMA breadth reading means for the next phase of this cycle, the complete analysis is live at CryptoNewsLive.org.

The article covers the CryptoQuant data in full, including both the dominance-by-volume chart and the Binance altcoin SMA breadth chart, with historical comparisons going back to 2018.

Read the full story at: CryptoNewsLive.org

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