Crypto traders seek shelter in bitcoin as altcoins slide and ETF flows wobble
Source: CoinDesk ·
From the source
Your day-ahead look for Oct. 21, 2026 This is an excerpt from CoinDesk newsletter 'Daybook.' Sign up here , if you haven't already. Bitcoin’s BTC $84,459.46 share of the crypto market has climbed to the highest level since May, even as prices across the wider market weaken. The cryptocurrency’s dominance rate , its contribution to the total market value of digital assets, reached 60% on Wednesday and remains near that level. The move signals a renewed preference for BTC, with investors favoring the largest cryptocurrency over alternative coins. The rise in dominance comes amid muted price action. Bitcoin slipped below $82,000 on Thursday, reversing Wednesday’s brief push above $84,000. On a seven-day basis, BTC and most other major tokens — including ether ETH $2,490.55 , XRP (XRP) and solana (SOL) — were largely little changed to positive, with zcash (ZEC) the only major coin to advance more than 10%. Smaller tokens, however, have seen bigger declines. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index…