Altcoin growth occurs because Bitcoin allows it.

"The Bitcoin effect explained"

Bitcoin's dominance (around 50%) in the cryptocurrency market is undeniable. While many altcoins emerge with inflated valuations and fleeting popularity, Bitcoin exhibits a sustained, power-law-driven growth pattern (we know that thanks to Giovanni). This raises the question: What trajectory does the total crypto market cap (Bitcoin & Altcoins) follow?

I wanted to test if the performance of altcoins changes the already-established trend that Bitcoin exhibits in the market, positively or negatively.

By analysing the total crypto market cap data from the inception of the first cryptocurrency (BTC) until today, we see that it also follows a power law (power of 6.83). This indicates that the TMC is growing faster than BTC, and that, in my opinion, is because the total crypto market is standing on the shoulder of a giant "Bitcoin." I changed the quote of Isaac Newton a bit.

I just tested that, so more research is needed on Bitcoin's effect on the TMC. I get the feeling, though, that the gains we see on the altcoin market are due to the fact that we are sitting on Bitcoin's trend, and "good" and "bad" projects are benefiting from it. At least for now, it seems a net positive