Altcoins are often looked down on by a significant proportion of bitcoin users as lesser versions of bitcoin itself. While true in some cases, Altcoins such as Ethereum are opening new crypto users to a wide range of technologies aimed at fulfilling the countless market niches from inter blockchain communication to automated market trading.
Bitcoin market dominance has fallen to a all time low sitting at a humble 37% at the time of writing, altcoin behemoths such as Ripple boasting a market cap in an excess of $100 Billion on the 30th of December last year. As seen in graphs below, Ethereum has been a huge market mover creeping up dramatically as its potential as a daily driver for transactions remains true as ever considering the lower fees and confirmation times involved with the cryptocoin.
NairaEX will also be launching Altcoin integration next year as Litecoin, Ethereum and bitcoin cash will be accepted payment methods on the platform. Allowing users to trade between the multiple altcoins, it is hoped the company can increase altcoin usage in Nigeria.
To conclude, while bitcoin reigns as the benchmark for many altcoins. this year we may see the rise of altcoins such as Ethereum and Ripple. Offering many benefits such as faster transaction times or developers increased access to a global network, the value of altcoins as the future of crypto is being realized as bitcoin markets hit saturation point according to some. This year looks to be a interesting one for bitcoin users as while we will see increased exposure in the form of ETF’s available to institutional investors from a number of exchanges such as the New York stock exchange and the Chicago Board Options exchange, we will also see fees rise considerably but the market reaction is yet to be seen.
