It is not the first year in the crypto community that has been debating about the possibilities of the early overthrow of Bitcoin from the top of leadership capitalization and domination. Learn about the pros and cons, as well as the main contenders for leadership, from our material.
The power of bitcoin: how child Satoshi keeps the lead
The cryptocurrency market is often compared to the dotcom. With the advent of the Internet, companies began to view the new space as an environment for doing business. While some did not believe in the power of the new technology, others were strenuously building their empires. In the end, only those survived who first recognized the prospects of the Internet and its opportunities in the field of business development (Amazon can serve as an example).
Speaking of the dotcom, you can trace a curious feature - the leaders of the movement, the first who believed in the Internet, turned out to be practically inaccessible to competitors. Only with the passage of time, in the wake of new technologies, did the “dinosaurs” of this direction feel oppressed.
Transferring the dot-com images to cryptocurrencies, you can see a similar situation: based in the distant (by the standards of digital tools) 2008, Bitcoin managed to take a leadership position. Its spread during the absence of competitors allowed us to get enough power to permanently break away from the "pursuers" that appeared later.
Threat of losing leadership
No matter how strong Bitcoin may seem, historical experience demonstrates its inevitable approach to the time of the transfer of the crown. Daily emerging Altcoins serve as a mechanism for pumping and weakening the capitalization of the first cryptocurrency. Their appearance makes cryptopolisters pay attention to new ideas and suggestions. As a result, Bitcoin is slowly but surely shrouded in a veil of oblivion.
A graphic demonstration of the process of capital transfer from Bitcoin to competitors is the schedule of its dominance in the market. It displays the reaction of cryptographic drivers to certain periods in the life of a new financial instrument.
The most interesting moments include the following:
- A significant capital gains Ethereum in 2017 year.
Growth began after a negative decision by the SEC on the possible registration of Bitcoin ETF. Ethereum, as the closest alternative to the first cryptocurrency, has managed to realize significant growth against the backdrop of expectations of investment in the non-profit Alliance Enterprise Ethereum. An additional incentive was the enthusiasm of users on the eve of Metropolis upgrade.
- Switching attention to altcoins at the start of 2018.
At the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, commissions in the Bitcoin network began to show obscenely high values. Many users, seeing the benefits of working with his altcoins, began to switch to alternative coins.
- Ripple behavior.
The growth of Ripple, the level of decentralization of which is still debated, was due to the drafting of a number of contracts with large financial institutions.
It is important to note that being a digital gold, Bitcoin has every chance of finally moving from the category of payment instruments to the area of savings. In this case, he will be able to maintain a high cost, while continuing to lose indicators of dominance. This theory is supported by the constant development of the cryptocurrency market - new, more technically advanced ones are replacing old projects.
Arguments for long Bitcoin domination
Further, as opposed to the enslavement of Bitcoin by Altcoins, the possibilities of its resistance should be considered. The main ones include the following:
- The constant work of the Bitcoin team on the improvement of technical indicators makes it possible to stabilize its position in the general cryptocurrency market. However, this does not mean that a different, more advanced project will not appear in the crypto environment, in which Satosha’s ideas and the best qualities of digital currencies will be embodied.
- There is an opinion that with the advent of a new wave of regulation of the cryptocurrency market, the bitcoin dominance index will rapidly rise. The reason for this behavior will be the death of projects unsuitable for the oppression of the legal field. The released funds will cling to more stable cryptocurrencies and to Bitcoin in particular.
- Most Altcoins die sooner or later under the pressure of their more capitalized counterparts. In addition, not all coins created on the 2017 HYIP wave of the year managed to die, which means Bitcoin still has enough “food” to support domination at their expense.
- Another kind of development may be some kind of balance - the dominance of Bitcoin can drop significantly, while allowing you to maintain the leadership position against the background of the closest competitors. This option can be implemented in the case of the emergence of an even larger number of altcoins, who will take on the task of meeting a number of needs of the crypto community.
Another argument “for” the immortality of the leadership qualities of Bitcoin, is the totality of its capabilities: despite some avoidable flaws, it meets most of the requirements for cryptocurrency.
Pretenders for the king
Next, you need to look back at projects that, for one reason or another, are predicted to be the new leaders.
Ethereum
| "By" | "Against" |
| High prevalence. | Often, at the end of the ICO, which constitute a significant proportion of Ethereum's popularity, the creators "drain" the coins. |
| Good technical base. | |
| The project platform is popular as a base for launching startups. |
Interesting! A well-known businessman, crypto-enthusiast and founder of MGT Capital Investments, John McAfee, during his interview with NewsBTC concluded in favor of Ethereum's likely leadership. He explained his opinion by the clear advantages of the technical component of the project over its competitors, as well as its wide user base.
Ripple
| "By" | "Against" |
| Confidently growing popularity. | Low level of decentralization. |
| Effective technical solutions that are actively used in the banking environment. | The controversial technical nature, which significantly alienates Ripple from the classical understanding of “cryptocurrency” and its possible advantages over fiat. |
Litecoin
| "By" | "Against" |
| Stability of technical indicators of the project. | The lack of clear advantages over most cryptocurrencies. |
| Litecoin is one of the first altcoins to achieve recognition. | Speculative control by Litecoin creator Charlie Lee. |
In addition to the presented projects, there are many theories in which the main role belongs to other coins: from Bitcoin Cash to Monero. Particular attention in this direction is also given to stablecoins and Tether in particular.
To thinking
Another theory is the complete death of the cryptocurrency market in the event of a gradual weakening of bitcoin. This point of view is based on the inevitable movement of all altcoins beyond BTC. An example is the recent scandal around Bitfinex, provoking the possibility of depreciation of Tether. When the first news appeared, users immediately began to transfer their USDT to the good old BTC. On the chart, it looked like this:
This situation, as well as the habitual reaction of Bitcoin to the problems of other projects in the form of its growth, is perfectly demonstrated by the tweet of the famous crypto activist:
Just remember, when exchanges are dying, # Bitcoin price usually goes up.
- Richard Heart [BitcoinHEX] (@RichardHeartWin) 15th of October 2018
“Just remember that when exchanges die, the price of bitcoin usually starts to rise.”
At the moment, most participants in the crypto community are confident that there is no ideal alternative on the market that could forever overshadow bitcoin. It is likely that sooner or later the ideal altcoin will be born, devoid of flaws, which will be able to compete with the first cryptocurrency.
Summing up
Despite the arguments for and against the possible displacement of Bitcoin from the pedestal occupied by him, it is necessary to pay attention to one moment - everything that has a beginning has an end. Accordingly, the immortality of Bitcoin and its eternal leadership are a big question. However, how exactly the fate of the first cryptocurrency will change is extremely difficult to predict.
In many ways, the nebula of the future is explained by the mobility of this area: with the advent of regulation and the likely continuation of the spread of digital currencies, the position of bitcoin may acquire other nuances.
It is likely that Bitcoin will remain a certain starting point in the world of cryptocurrencies and even retain its value as the progenitor of the direction. However, with the greatest probability in the future, the sphere of practical application of a financial instrument can be transferred to its technically more advanced brothers.