Do BTC and Ethereum make up 98%? Kevin O’Leary debates the crypto market structure—do altcoins still have a chance?

Gate News updates: Kevin O’Leary recently said that Bitcoin and Ethereum combined account for 98% of the value in the crypto market, calling these two categories of assets the “only meaningful investment options.” This view quickly sparked debate in the market—especially amid large pullbacks across most altcoins, with some assets down 80% or even 90% from their prior highs—making it even more contentious.

From a data perspective, Bitcoin remains dominant, and its combined share with Ethereum is close to about 70%. While this does not reach the extreme level of 98%, it still reflects a high concentration among top-tier assets. At the same time, networks like Solana and other Layer1 ecosystems, as well as the DeFi sector, continue to attract developers and users, suggesting that the market has not completely lost diversity.

Institutional preferences have become an important driver of this split. Compared with emerging projects that see higher volatility, Bitcoin is viewed as “digital gold,” while Ethereum supports smart contracts and a decentralized application ecosystem. Together, the two offer stronger liquidity and more predictable regulatory expectations. As macro uncertainty rises, capital is more inclined to flow into these core assets, reinforcing their share of the market.

However, debates over the value of altcoins are still ongoing. Some investors agree with O’Leary’s conservative logic, believing that mid- and small-cap projects are difficult to survive long term; others emphasize that blockchain innovation often comes from emerging tracks—including improvements in scalability, breakthroughs in on-chain finance, and advances at the application layer—and that the next growth cycle could still be born there.

From an investment logic standpoint, the crypto market shows clear characteristics of cyclical rotation: when risk appetite falls, capital concentrates in Bitcoin and Ethereum; during periods of liquidity expansion, funds may flow back into the altcoin sector, driving a higher-volatility uptrend.

At the current stage, the market is closer to a structure dominated by core assets, but ecosystem innovation has not stopped. For investors, the key is to balance risk and return expectations—making allocation decisions between the stability of mainstream assets and the growth potential of emerging ones.