For the last decade, Bitcoin has been considered the market leader in the world of cryptocurrencies. But recently, a lot of experts are looking at the possibility that there is a chance that an altcoin could actually be the next Bitcoin.
For starters, Bitcoin’s market cap dominance has declined by as much as 38.2% despite the recovery to just below $14,000 during the start of 2018. On the other hand, we’ve seen the rise of other digital currencies from Ripple to IOTA, and even Cardano to name a few.
September to December 2017 Run for Bitcoin
Between September and December, Bitcoin was the one that was getting the lead against other altcoins as usual. It was even predicted during this time that Bitcoin would suck any earnings that will flow into altcoins. However, things changed quite fast.
It is true, though that a lot of investors are simply diversifying their cryptocurrency portfolio. However, with new technologies on the rise, there are many investors thinking of switching completely towards other digital coins. In fact, if you will look at less popular altcoins today, you’ll notice that it has already reached a market cap of $1 billion. Though it is still significantly smaller than what top cryptocurrencies have, it seemed impossible just a few months back. Come to think of it, Litecoin reaching a $3 billion market cap was actually considered absurd for a time.
Is 2018 the Year of Altcoins?
Beginning 2018, the entire cryptocurrency market has a total market capitalization of a whopping $612 billion. In the coming months, there is even a possibility that the market capitalization of digital currencies will be at one trillion dollars.
Is 2018 the year of altcoins? Many speculators believe that obscure altcoins will actually take the spotlight away from Bitcoin this 2018. However, users and buyers are now wiser when it comes to buying cryptocurrencies. There is a stronger community that can educate individuals who are willing to invest in digital currencies. There is also a huge chance that more altcoins will start moving away from Bitcoin.
Candidate for the next Bitcoin?
There are a number of candidates that you should scrutinize carefully this 2018. All of which has the possibility of taking the market leadership position in today’s world of cryptocurrencies. However, let’s narrow things down to two options.
First, you have Ethereum. Ethereum is a protocol, smart contract platform, It even has its own operating system that is meant for its miners. What sets Ethereum apart from Bitcoin is it facilitates building dApps or decentralized applications. This allows the users to write their own smart contracts as well as customize apps.
Other than Ethereum, there’s Ripple. Ripple until today is still considered an unlikely candidate that may take Bitcoin’s place. However, a surge of its price followed by the difficulty of Bitcoin to recover its highest value recently has changed a lot of people’s mind.
There are a lot of reasons to believe that there is a chance that other cryptocurrencies can take over Bitcoin’s place. Aside from the new technologies, Bitcoin is also encountering a number of problems in processing transactions. And lastly, you also have the fear that it is already a bubble waiting to burst. But for now, we have to wait and see what 2018 has in store for cryptocurrencies.
