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Altcoin volumes shrink by 50% as capital rotates back to Bitcoin
After undergoing a sharp correction, Bitcoin is now consolidating within a range between $72 000 and $65 000, a zone where significant activity from whales, long term holders, and even institutional investors is taking place. During deep corrections or in the late stages of bear markets, investors tend to rotate capital toward Bitcoin while stepping away from altcoins. This behavior can be observed by analyzing trading volumes on Binance, broken down into three categories : BTC, ETH, and other Altcoins. Because Binance consistently records some of the highest trading volumes in the market, it represents a particularly relevant benchmark for studying these shifts in investor behavior. As BTC moved back above $60 000, a notable change in trading volume distribution emerged. On February 7, Bitcoin trading volumes on Binance regained dominance, accounting for 36.8% of total exchange volume. A dominance that has continued through to today. In comparison, altcoins represented 35.3% and Ethereum accounted for 27.8%. Altcoin trading volumes have been the most heavily impacted during this correction. Compared with November, when altcoins represented 59.2% of Binance trading volumes, their share had fallen to 33.6% by February 13, marking an almost 50% contraction in altcoin activity. This pattern has appeared repeatedly during previous corrective phases, including April 2025, August 2024, and October 2022 near the end of the bear market. It is particularly striking to observe how Bitcoin’s share of trading volume increases during periods of uncertainty and market stress. In these environments, investors naturally gravitate toward BTC, reinforcing its role as the primary asset for capital preservation and highlighting its continued status as the market’s central benchmark.