I'm sure you've heard it by now, everyone is saying it, Altcoins are dead!
But Are they really?
Since the rise of BTC dominance over the past few months the end of altcoins seems all that some people can talk about unless you are schilling an altcoin that is, but is there any credibility to that statement? BTC dominance is at I mean you might be under a rock to not notice that altcoins are taking a hit right now. BTC dominance is at 70.2%, you would have to be living under a rock to no notice that altcoins are taking a hit.
Anybody holding a bag of anything is feeling it, but does this spell the end? Now I'm no market expert but let's take a look at this seriously. Is this rise in BTC dominance truly going to be the end of altcoins?
What are Altcoins? Why are they here?
**A quick recap maybe . . . **
Simply put, altcoins are anything not Bitcoin, e.g. Ethereum, Tronix, Neo, Bitcoincash, etc., and there are many many more. The next question to follow this statement for most is why are there so many? what is their purpose?
Many Altcoins try to model themselves after Bitcoin. Trying to be what Bitcoin is. The rise of bitcoin has shown us many things. I don't know about everyone else but for me, it has been simply as a way to escape the banks, damn bloodsucking banks. Whether it's as a store of value, a way to escape the banking systems plaguing us, or a potential invest that will make you money, we all have our reasons for believing in Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency for that matter.
Not all coins try to be Bitcoin, some try to provide a purpose, hell some aren't even built on blockchain technology. Some coins out there push to provide a service which Bitcoin cannot, or even to just fill in the gaps that some people see as flaws in Bitcoin. Whether this purpose is ease of use, storing information on a blockchain, or even being silver to Bitcoins gold, altcoins try to provide a purpose. ( Now at this point I would like to point out that not all coins are like this, in fact, some are literally there to screw you over!)
BTC Dominance!
The BTC dominance chart simply shows how other coins a fairing against BTC. Simple. But what does that mean? When BTC dominance rises the value of altcoins, as compared to BTC, drops.
Here's the current chart as of the time of writing:
As you can see BTC has about 63% on Ethereum. Also, you can see that BTC has always held dominance, nowhere on this chart does it show any other coin holding the title of king, but it does show a sway in the hold of BTC over the others.
For me, this chart says a lot, mostly my altcoin bags are dropping in price, but it also shows that BTC is where I should be keeping most of my holding, and maybe I should sell some altcoins. This chart doesn't show something though. Something else to take into consideration before taking to the streets and proclaiming the death of altcoins.
This chart shows the market-cap minus bitcoin. Now that there number is Huge!! Seriously look at it. $80 billion. That's not a trivial amount of money flowing into altcoins. In fact, even with BTC dominating the amount of money in the altcoin market is amazing. Now any market with this kind of volume will not just cease to exist, this market will persevere for a while. Now I'm not saying that all altcoins will survive, hell many coins have died over the years, but this market cap at the very least proves that people are willing to put money and trust into.
No, if anything, altcoins that don't find a use case amongst crypto-enthusiasts will fail. While those that do find use will continue to live on, maybe not prosper but find a place of use.
As far as I'm concerned altcoins still live, I will admit that it is barely right now and will continue to do so. Not all but the ones we as enthusiasts find a use-case for. If not? Bye-Bye. For now, I will continue to by when the market is down, take that risk and maybe be proven wrong. As far as I'm concerned there's time before altcoins see their twilight years, they just haven't found their way in the world
** This article is my opinion and not financial advice. Please do your research, and don't risk anything you can't afford to lose.**
** All pictures from Coinmarketcap.com**
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