I've noticed that many newcomers are confused about how the dominance of different assets works. It seems like money is "moving" from one asset to another, but in reality, it's more complicated.

Dominance is recalculated every second based on three factors: asset prices, their market capitalization, and the total market capitalization. This is not an action but a consequence. When Tether.D drops, it doesn't mean that people are massively selling USDT. Quite the opposite often happens.

Imagine the situation: altcoins are growing by 10–30%, while BTC and ETH are stable or slowly rising. The total market capitalization is increasing, but the USDT capitalization remains the same. Simple math — USDT's share in the overall pie automatically shrinks. Tether.D decreases, even though no tokens physically moved anywhere. It's purely a revaluation of the share.

Why don't BTC.D and ETH.D increase at this moment? Because the money isn't going into "big" assets but into risk. Large players have already accumulated Bitcoin and Ethereum earlier. Now they are reallocating their portfolios — reducing the share of stablecoins and increasing the share of altcoins, but not buying more BTC or ETH. The capitalization of the "big" assets doesn't decrease, but their market share doesn't grow because altcoins are rising faster. This results in flat dominance, while Other.D soars.

This happens in several stages. First is the accumulation phase — Tether.D is high, BTC and ETH are stable. Then the initial risk phase begins: a small part of USDT moves into promising altcoins via OTC or funds. Other.D starts to grow faster. Then the effect of small capitalization kicks in — a slight inflow of money causes a large percentage increase in altcoins. This artificially accelerates Other.D growth without visible movements in Bitcoin or Ethereum.

The final stage is the mass phase. Retail investors see the altcoin rise, exit the market or move into stablecoins. BTC and ETH already seem psychologically expensive. Altcoin dominance continues to grow.

Here's the key math. Suppose the market is worth $1 trillion, USDT accounts for $100 billion (10%). Altcoins have grown by $100 billion, USDT remains $100 billion. Now the market is $1.1 trillion, and USDT is 9.1%. USDT hasn't decreased, but its dominance has fallen. These $100 billion in growth went only into Other.

This is critical for trading. Healthy growth of Other.D looks like this: Tether.D drops, BTC.D stays flat or slightly declines, ETH.D is also flat, Other.D rises. This is the best window for altcoins. A dangerous signal is when Other.D grows but Tether.D doesn't fall and total market cap doesn't increase. It indicates just money shifting within altcoins, and a pullback may follow soon.

The main thing to understand: dominance grows where market capitalization growth is faster, not where assets are "bought directly." USDT might not be sold at all, BTC and ETH might be stationary, yet Other.D will still grow. This is not magic; it's market mathematics.