Crypto.Think Discussions: This is a new segment to the Crypto.Think blog that is going to more or less avoid actual technical analysis and focus more on facilitating new discussions within the crypto community.
The discussion I would like to start here, is what if Bitcoin has already served its purpose in opening the door for cryptocurrencies to find relevance, support, and actual utility in the world?
At this point in time, there are hundreds of different cryptocurrencies, some of which have extremely impressive technology supporting their networks. Every single day, more and more sophisticated blockchains arise that further diminish the overall competitive advantage that Bitcoin originally enjoyed over the cryptocurrency market.
A Look Into Bitcoin Dominance
Bitcoin being the very first digital currency to have successful adoption and utility means it has also been the first to attract investors, dominate the overall market cap, and consequently became the most popular and well known digital currency in the world. Since the original launch of Bitcoin back in 2008, it has enjoyed basically total control over the overall cryptocurrency market cap - really until the 2018 bull run. During that bull run, Bitcoin dominance (Bitcoin's overall share of the cryptocurrency market cap) fell drastically to under 40%. During that time, alt coins like Ethereum went on a massive rally, dictating that period as "alt coin season".
If a permanent decline in Bitcoin dominance is occurring, what would that mean for the rest of crypto? Well, in retrospect, we could see an "eternal" alt coin season. More and more individuals, institutions, even entities as large as the City of Miami and entire nations are entering the cryptocurrency market. While Bitcoin is still the most talked about digital currency, my thoughts are that institutional investors should be able to analyze the entire market and realize that better alternatives to Bitcoin already exist. Technology within cryptocurrencies is rapidly evolving.
Basically the point I am trying to get at here is past markets may not always be the best indicators of the immediate future when the circumstances of the entire market are still rapidly changing. I think more and more popularity is being shifted to alt coins. Many newer investors into cryptocurrencies that I know do not own Bitcoin. They are buying alt coins such as Ethereum, Chainlink, Cardano, and other prominent projects. A decoupling from Bitcoin shouldn't really be a surprising development, especially as crypto enters it's second decade of existence.
Bitcoin, outside of being a potential long term store of value, may have already served its purpose - giving the ultimate rise to the single greatest technology humanity has ever invented since the internet. I already think there are way better options to be used as a form of stable, digital payment. Bitcoin dominance hasn't been over 70% or so since controlling over 95% of the market cap back in 2017. Times are changing. One thing is for sure, the total cryptocurrency market cap is on its way to a $10 trillion USD valuation, something to look forward to on the horizon regardless of what currencies you hold.
Please throw your thoughts in the comments below! I would love to get some discussions going, just please remain respectful of your peers.
