By Joshua Merrick

In traditional finance, a benchmark is the asset people watch first to judge the direction of a market. In crypto, that role still belongs to Bitcoin. It is the reference point for price action, investor confidence, and risk appetite across the sector. CoinMarketCap defines Bitcoin dominance as Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market value, which is one of the clearest ways to see its benchmark role.

For newer investors, the practical meaning is simple. When people ask whether crypto is doing well or poorly, they usually look at Bitcoin first. Even when other coins are gaining attention, Bitcoin remains the first chart, the first headline, and often the first…