--- title: "Crypto Market Cap Indices Explained: TOTAL, TOTAL2, TOTAL3 and OTHERS" description: "A comprehensive guide to understanding crypto market capitalization indices and how analysts use them to measure market breadth and capital rotation." url: https://basisdesk.news/learn/total2-total3-others-charts-explained published: 2026-11-10T02:30:31.532Z modified: 2026-11-10T02:30:31.532Z section: Altcoins author: Basis Desk Newsroom (AI-generated, source-verified) sentiment: neutral tickers: [BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC] tags: [Market Capitalization, Trading Metrics, Capital Rotation, Market Breadth] license: Quote with attribution to Basis Desk (basisdesk.news). Not financial advice. --- # Crypto Market Cap Indices Explained: TOTAL, TOTAL2, TOTAL3 and OTHERS A comprehensive guide to understanding crypto market capitalization indices and how analysts use them to measure market breadth and capital rotation. ## Key points - TOTAL tracks the entire crypto market cap, but is heavily skewed by Bitcoin's dominance. - TOTAL2 excludes Bitcoin to measure the broad altcoin market, while TOTAL3 excludes both Bitcoin and Ethereum to isolate mid-cap and small-cap assets. - The OTHERS index removes the top 10 assets, serving as a barometer for high-risk speculation and micro-cap performance. - Stablecoin issuance can distort these indices, as stablecoins retain their value even when the prices of volatile assets collapse. Market capitalization indices aggregate the total valuation of digital assets to provide a macro view of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. By separating the market into specific indices like TOTAL, TOTAL2, and TOTAL3, analysts can track capital rotation between large-cap assets and smaller speculative alternative coins. These benchmarks filter out heavily weighted assets to reveal underlying market breadth. ## The Benchmark: TOTAL Market Cap The TOTAL index represents the aggregate market capitalization of all tracked cryptocurrencies. It functions similarly to broad market indices in traditional finance, offering a snapshot of the entire asset class. Market capitalization for a single asset is calculated by multiplying its current price by its circulating supply. The TOTAL index simply sums these individual valuations across thousands of active digital assets. However, the TOTAL index is heavily skewed by Bitcoin ($BTC). Because Bitcoin historically commands a massive share of the overall market, broad index movements often reflect Bitcoin's price action rather than genuine ecosystem-wide expansion or contraction. A significant rally in Bitcoin can push the TOTAL index higher even if the vast majority of smaller assets are declining. This concentration risk makes the TOTAL index less useful for analyzing the health of the broader altcoin market. ## Isolating Altcoins: TOTAL2 and TOTAL3 To strip away the outsized influence of Bitcoin, analysts use the **TOTAL2** index. This metric tracks the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin. TOTAL2 is the primary benchmark for the altcoin market. When TOTAL2 is rising faster than the TOTAL index, it indicates that capital is flowing into alternative assets, a dynamic often referred to as an "altseason." As the market matured, Ethereum ($ETH) established itself as the second-largest digital asset by a wide margin. Ethereum's weight within TOTAL2 began to mirror Bitcoin's dominance over the TOTAL index. To get a clearer picture of mid-cap and small-cap assets, data providers introduced the **TOTAL3** index. TOTAL3 calculates the aggregate market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies, excluding both Bitcoin and Ethereum. This metric isolates the performance of competing layer-1 blockchains, decentralized finance protocols, and other niche sectors. By tracking TOTAL3, analysts can gauge the speculative appetite of the market without the stabilizing presence of the two largest crypto assets. ## The Speculative Fringe: OTHERS For a granular view of small-cap and micro-cap assets, analysts look to the **OTHERS** index. The specific methodology for OTHERS varies slightly by data provider, but it generally represents the total crypto market capitalization excluding the top 10 assets by market cap (which often includes major stablecoins). This index acts as a barometer for high-risk, high-reward speculation. Assets within the OTHERS category typically have lower liquidity, smaller circulating supplies, and higher volatility. A sharp expansion in the OTHERS index usually occurs late in a market cycle, when capital rotates out of established large-cap assets and seeks higher returns in riskier, unproven tokens. ## Capital Rotation and Market Breadth The primary utility of tracking multiple indices is visualizing capital rotation. In a standard crypto market cycle, liquidity often flows in a predictable sequence. Fiat capital first enters the market through Bitcoin, driving up the TOTAL index while TOTAL2 and TOTAL3 lag. As Bitcoin's price stabilizes, investors rotate their profits into Ethereum and large-cap altcoins, causing TOTAL2 to accelerate. Finally, capital cascades down the risk curve into mid-caps and small-caps, driving up TOTAL3 and OTHERS. Comparing the relative momentum of these indices helps analysts identify the current phase of the market cycle. You can explore deeper on-chain valuation frameworks in our guide to [Realized Cap, MVRV and SOPR: On-Chain Valuation Metrics Explained](https://basisdesk.news/learn/realized-cap-and-mvrv-explained). ## Stablecoin Influence on Indices A critical nuance in reading these indices is the inclusion of stablecoins like Tether ($USDT) and USD Coin ($USDC). Stablecoins maintain a peg to a fiat currency, meaning their market capitalization grows only when new supply is minted, not through price appreciation. Because stablecoins are typically included in TOTAL, TOTAL2, and TOTAL3, a rising index does not always mean altcoins are gaining value. If market participants sell volatile altcoins for stablecoins during a panic, the market cap of the altcoins drops, but the market cap of the stablecoins remains steady. Consider a numeric example: Assume the TOTAL market cap is $2 trillion, with Bitcoin at $1 trillion, Ethereum at $400 billion, stablecoins at $150 billion, and all other altcoins making up the remaining $450 billion. - TOTAL2 is $1 trillion (TOTAL minus BTC). - TOTAL3 is $600 billion (TOTAL minus BTC and ETH). If the altcoin sector drops 20% in value ($90 billion loss), but stablecoin issuance increases by $50 billion as traders move to safety, TOTAL3 would only decline by $40 billion. The net change in the index masks the severe price depreciation of the volatile assets because the stablecoin expansion absorbs some of the impact. ## Common Misconceptions - **Market Cap Equals Fiat Inflow:** A common error is assuming a $100 billion increase in TOTAL3 means $100 billion of new fiat money entered the market. Market capitalization is simply the last traded price multiplied by supply; it takes significantly less actual capital inflow to move an asset's market cap, especially in low-liquidity environments. - **Double Counting Wrapped Assets:** Some data aggregators struggle to filter wrapped tokens perfectly. If Bitcoin is wrapped on the Ethereum network (WBTC), there is a risk that its value is counted in the TOTAL index as BTC, and again in TOTAL2 as an ERC-20 token, slightly inflating altcoin indices. - **Locked Supply Distortions:** Market cap indices usually rely on circulating supply. However, vesting schedules and locked tokens can distort these figures. A project might have a high market cap on paper, but only a fraction of its tokens are liquid and tradable. ## What to Watch When tracking these indices, analysts monitor the ratio between them, often called "dominance." Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) is the ratio of Bitcoin's market cap to the TOTAL market cap. When BTC.D falls while the TOTAL index is flat or rising, it confirms that capital is rotating into the assets tracked by TOTAL2 and TOTAL3. Conversely, during periods of market stress, capital typically flees the speculative assets in TOTAL3 and OTHERS, consolidating back into Bitcoin and stablecoins. Watching the divergence between large-cap indices and the OTHERS index provides a real-time gauge of the market's aggregate risk tolerance. ## FAQ **What is the difference between TOTAL2 and TOTAL3?** TOTAL2 measures the aggregate market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin. TOTAL3 measures the market capitalization excluding both Bitcoin and Ethereum, providing a clearer view of the smaller altcoin market. **Why do analysts use the OTHERS index?** Analysts use the OTHERS index to track the performance of the market's most speculative, lower-liquidity assets by stripping out the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies, which otherwise skew broad market trends. **Does a rising market cap index mean money is entering the market?** Not necessarily. Market capitalization is calculated by multiplying price by supply. A small amount of buying volume on an illiquid asset can push its price—and thus its market cap—up significantly, without matching fiat inflows. **Are stablecoins included in these indices?** Yes, unless specifically filtered out by the charting platform. Stablecoins are generally included in TOTAL, TOTAL2, and TOTAL3, meaning new stablecoin minting can increase the index even if altcoin prices are falling. ## Sources - --- Basis Desk Newsroom · AI-generated, source-verified · https://basisdesk.news/about/how-we-use-ai