Altcoins are driving global adoption faster than bitcoin.

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Bitcoin dominates the cryptocurrency market capitalization; in a market worth over $350 billion, bitcoin accounts for over 55% of the whole cryptocurrency market capitalization, sitting comfortably at the top with over two hundred (200) billion dollars in total market worth -- Bitcoin is king. Yeah, the maximalists did say that so loud.

Bitcoin and others, bitcoin maximalists all over have struggled to replace the term ‘cryptocurrency’ with ‘bitcoin’ and not only reign superior but also write the term ‘shitcoin’ boldly to make other cryptocurrency and blockchain projects look inferior. Unfortunately, Bitcoin maximalists might have to look away this time around. Even though they are well aware of this fact, it might still be a pill too hard for them to swallow.
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Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are both relatively emerging concepts with only a little percentage of the global population having a knowledge of them and an even lesser population being actively involved. Global adoption becomes the most important target for the both concepts. Blockchain as a technology have gained more mainstream adoption, a couple of reputable firms have adopted the blockchain concepts and have utilized many blockchain solution in running their firms, this so far have yields good results for them. Cryptocurrencies on the other hand have made tangible success and is arguably more popular than blockchain itself, many people know about cryptocurrencies (especially the popular ones) but are yet to understand the technology behind them. To these people, cryptocurrencies are just a store of value…This is where Bitcoin wins.

Bitcoin is principally a store of value.

While it is important to note that this is also a huge part of the global adoption goal, it is however, just one out of many more. Blockchain technology is a very vast computing algorithm with countless applications. As already stated, most mainstream firms adopting blockchain technology are doing so without cryptocurrencies; simply put, they are developing utility blockchains without cryptocurrencies running on the blockchain, on the other hand, utility blockchains with cryptocurrencies running on them are also gaining mainstream attention; not just because of the cryptocurrency, but also because of the utility they offer.

During the 2017 bull run, bitcoin was the center of attention as investors ran after what they believed will soon be a globally accepted means of payment, sequel to the bull run, bitcoin’s reputation relative to other blockchain projects still lingered as it continued to reign supreme with other projects suffering more from the infamous price crash.

Fast forward to three years later, bitcoin still stays top, but attention to the ‘chief cryptocurrency’ is unarguably on the decrease, as certain ‘shitcoins’ are making the waves, moving the crypto space and dragging bitcoin along.

Decentralized financial (DeFi) systems comprises applications built on top of blockchains which facilitates permissionless financial services and provides a seamless option for running financial activities. DeFi hopes to introduce the core virtues of blockchain technology to the financial system.

DeFi projects are expanding the scope of financial systems, shifting the paradigm from ‘portable means’ of payments to smart contract applications running independently on a parent blockchain and offering advanced financial services such as insurance, lending, wealth management and an array of other financial management using blockchain resources and exhibiting desired blockchain features such immutability, security, privacy, speed and interoperability.
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Now, I’m sure you get to hear the term DeFi twice as often as you hear Bitcoin, and even Ether on whose blockchain most DeFi projects run. Thanks to the enticing opportunities DeFi presents, the attention of many mainstream financial institutions is being drawn to the crypto space as DeFi is set to infiltrate mainstream financial procedures. I heard some say “pull down the banks”…but not so soon anyways.

DeFi might have made the most recent noise in the crypto space, but not to forget privacy coins which have raised eyebrows as drew the attention of agencies around the world, including security agencies…lol.

Cardano is developing an advanced blockchain to power decentralized applications built for large-scale use. It hopes to develop a blockchain with the ability to power real world applications built for mainstream use and capable enough to handle the friction from being used by a large population. To achieve this, it is developing a flexible and scalable blockchain with support for smart contracts and allows users build solutions on its blockchain. Moving from the Byron to the Shelley era, cardano is advancing both its blockchain technology and its governance to a more decentralized and social friendly procedure.

If there will be a world of decentralized incentivized video sharing and streaming network, then Theta network is nowhere far from securing a place in the world of video streaming on the internet. Theta network is building a robust infrastructure for decentralized video delivery and streaming services. Powered by the theta fuel, it hopes to incentivize users and tackle both technical and economic issues surrounding video sharing and streaming. It provides high quality video delivery and a decentralized ecosystem for both content creators and the users of the platform. Theta network’s silver TV and other video platforms which have utilized this technology have shown feasibility of this concept.

Using its Directed Acyclic Graph blockchain (DAG) and distributed ledger technology, IOTA is building a sustainable internet of things technology. Having made so much break-throughs and partnership with reputable firms, it has placed itself as a front runner in the internet of things industry in relation with blockchain technology, with much yet to come from this project, it boasts global utility.

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Notable decentralized artificial intelligence solutions are working with firms outside the crypto space to develop artificial intelligence products and solutions with the aid of the blockchain. SingularityNet led by Ben Goertzel, a very popular and respected name in the AI sector is making breathtaking breakthroughs in the AI space and set to offset the discipline and connect the dots between blockchain technology and the Artificial intelligence—a multi-billion dollar worth concept.

Alright, I mentioned a few, leaving out tons of others. Countless altcoins are making their way into the mainstream sectors associated with their niche.

These innovative solutions make blockchain technology more of a utility and cryptocurrencies, utility tokens rather than just a store of value. Despite the pronounced irregularities surrounding altcoins, it is unarguable that they are closer to global utility than bitcoin whose blockchain haven’t advanced to tackle emerging issues. Bitcoin blockchain faces scalability and apart from being a store of value; it is almost the most irrelevant cryptocurrency.

The ‘shitcoin’ reputation may linger for much longer but if global adoption continues to be the target, then bitcoin becoming less relevant is just a matter of when, not if.
While bitcoin blockchain’s trailblazing feats are commendable, maximalism of any cryptocurrency project remains an unhealthy practice. At the end of the day, technology wins. Each ‘shitcoin’ which solves a mainstream problem or invents a new way of doing things stands a chance of being the new world technology.

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6 comments
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good article, in that technology many projects are not only creating solutions but also consolidating market niches with global application potential

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