Although 2024 has been a strong year for crypto as whole, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has dominated the spotlight, leaving many altcoins in the dust. Bitcoin's impressive performance has overshadowed the rest of the crypto market, and many are likely wondering when will it be time to forget Bitcoin and turn to altcoins (essentially, all cryptos other than Bitcoin).

The answer is complex, but if history is any guide, the tides may be shifting soon.

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Altcoins -- those smaller, more speculative cryptos that sometimes skyrocket in a short time -- have had a relatively quiet 2024. Despite multiple forecasts of an altcoin resurgence, the rally hasn't arrived yet. This is primarily due to Bitcoin's dominance -- its share of the crypto market's value -- rising during the past two years and continuing to climb.

Today, Bitcoin's market cap makes up nearly 60% of the total crypto market cap and has been rising steadily since 2023. While Bitcoin's resurgence is responsible for renewed momentum across crypto, it has done little to benefit altcoins.

This rise in dominance is a telling sign of the market's current state. Historically, when Bitcoin dominance is on the rise, altcoins struggle to gain momentum. As long as Bitcoin remains the central focus, the likelihood of altcoins delivering significant returns remains low.

Data by TradingView

What needs to happen for altcoins to shine? First, we need to see Bitcoin's dominance fall, a phenomenon that tends to precede an altcoin rally. The big question is: When will Bitcoin's dominance start to slip?

To get an idea, we can look back at previous market cycles. One of the most compelling scenarios is what happened in 2019. That year shares key similarities with 2024, particularly when it comes to interest-rate policy.

In both cases, the Federal Reserve initiated a rate-cutting cycle after a prolonged period of raising rates. While this may seem unrelated, there's a strong correlation between rate cuts and increased liquidity, which often leads to more risk-taking behavior by investors -- and risk-taking is exactly what drives the growth of altcoins.

When the Fed started cutting rates in 2019, Bitcoin dominance initially continued to climb, peaking at about 70%. But by the end of 2019, the trend began to shift. Altcoins started gaining momentum as liquidity flowed more freely into riskier assets. In just one year, the total altcoin market cap surged from $60 billion in December 2019 to an astonishing $726 billion by the end of 2020. Two years later, it ballooned to more than $1 trillion.