What plans does 2021 have for our altcoins this time around? An industry insider sees a dead-end for several altcoins, another reminds of good signs that will improve altcoins this year, while a third says we might need a variation in terminology.
The bull was dominating the crypto market since the end of 2020, while this week we’ve once again witnessed the market’s volatility. Bitcoin (BTC) has dipped some 20% from its all-time high reached just days ago, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 23% since its weekly peek, with various altcoins the following suit and correcting downwards. For now, the crypto market continues for the most part green in the past week, with six out of the top ten coins’ prices appreciating.
Truth be told, industry figures see both the end and prosperity for altcoins. It just seems at some point that it comes down to technology, positioning, and use claims.
1. Trilemma, cemetery, and place in the world
The Managing Director of IBMR.io (International Blockchain Monetary Reserve), Sinjin David Jung, which is a long-time partner and a supporter of Algorand (ALGO) stated.
“I expect, in general, that the altcoins that truly have a use case and have solved the trilemma problem to some degree will do great.”
Nevertheless, he cautioned that the future is dark for altcoins that don’t have a use case other than being a speculative investment: “I foresee a lot of altcoins dying in 2021-2022.”
While bitcoin has a firmly established account, it will be critical for altcoins to “find their narrative and place in the world.”
“Will litecoin continue to be the silver to bitcoin’s gold? Who knows, let’s see what happens in the new year, but I think it’s really now about adoption and positioning more than the technology,” Jung said, adding,
“I think any company that’s still working on a protocol that hasn’t launched yet, it is not going to happen for them.”
2. Good signs
Meantime, there also seem to be hinting that major altcoins will not only survive but might see broader adoption this year.
Konstantin Richter, CEO, and Founder of the blockchain infrastructure platform for node management Blockdaemon claimed that, while the original and largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, continues to be the main driver of both retail and institutional adoption.
Large institutional players that are entering the crypto markets, such as PayPal, have not restricted their strategy to the adoption of the only bitcoin and offered ETH, bitcoin cash (BCH), and LTC to their clients also.
Hence, Richter said,
“This approach would seem to indicate that a number of both emerging and established altcoins, alongside the big two of bitcoin and ethereum are here to stay.”
3. Name game
For some among those that do survive, a name transition to something more becoming might be in order. Jack O’Holleran, CEO and Co-Founder of decentralized network SKALE, said that we’ll get a better term than ‘altcoins’ as now we have “real networks […] up and running,” that are powered by real tokens. “This includes networks like SKALE, Celo, Polkadot, Solana, Near, and others which will be known as networks first and coins second,” said O’Holleran, adding,
“Maybe we’ll call this category network coins rather than Altcoins.”
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