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The Top Bitcoin Competitors

We have a few contenders for which coin will overtake Bitcoin

By Langa NtuliPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 4 min read
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Image credit: Investing.com

Bitcoin (BTC) is the oldest cryptocurrency with an unshakeable first-mover advantage. Despite hundreds of existing coins performing the same functions with far superior efficiency, Bitcoin remains the most traded in the markets.

BTC has a moat, a business term describing a company's distinct edge over others that is almost impossible to duplicate.

If you asked any layperson to call the first soda drink coming to mind, they would probably name Coca-Cola. Similarly, anyone with limited crypto knowledge will likely have heard of BTC more than any other coin.

BTC has a cult-like following of millions of investors and enthusiasts who see the project among the best value storers in recent history. Thus, only a handful stand a chance of becoming more prominent; or are there any serious Bitcoin competitors?

Factors to consider about crypto market dominance

Any of the coins presently in the top 10 most traded list have the best chance of ‘dethroning’ Bitcoin in the near future compared to those further down. We need to consider several elements aside from the ranking, one of them being percentage growth.

Percentage growth

For any cryptocurrency to rank higher than BTC, it’d need to be growing at a faster rate. Most research suggests Bitcoin has increased, on average, by roughly 200% annually for the last decade.

It’s natural to look at popular projects like Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot (which have performed far better in value in the past few years) and believe they stand the best shot of becoming the top Bitcoin competitors.

However, this analogy doesn’t consider the longevity of these cryptocurrencies. Many of these projects are less than three years old. Therefore, even though they’ve produced triple-digit increases, this performance might not be sustainable in the long run.

The next critical factors in the overtaking possibility are the price and market cap.

Price and market cap

The three coins priced in the five-digit range are Bitcoin, Wrapped Bitcoin, and yearn.finance. While the latter is worth about $11 465, its market cap is roughly 110 times ($419 million) tinier than Bitcoin’s ($463 billion).

Several experts have pinpointed coins like Cardano (ADA) to surpass BTC dominance. The coin is only worth 53 cents presently, with a market cap of approximately $18.1 billion (ranked #7), according to CoinMarketCap.

Even if ADA increased by around 26 times in value (giving it a higher market cap than BTC), it’s unlikely to be worth more as altcoins usually move in tandem with Bitcoin.

So, a coin with a genuine possibility of leaving Bitcoin behind needs to have a market cap in the hundreds of billions right now to narrow the gap more quickly. Based on this analysis, this leaves us with, of course, Ethereum.

How ETH could overtake BTC

Ethereum ticks quite a number of boxes. Firstly, it’s priced in the thousands of dollars. Secondly, it presently has a market cap of about $236 billion, almost half of Bitcoin’s.

Lastly, Ethereum has been growing quicker than Bitcoin over the last six years. According to CoinGecko, Ethereum’s annualized return has been 663%, more than three times higher than Bitcoin’s rate.

While Bitcoin is numero uno, Ethereum has enjoyed far more substantial adoption. Ethereum is a highly influential second-generation blockchain used in several crypto sub-sectors, NFTs, lending, yield farming, decentralized exchanges, smart contracts, etc.

However, with the current bear market and the long-awaited Ethereum 2.0, no one knows when Ethereum could be the #1 coin.

The Ethereum killer coins

Other projects that can seriously give Bitcoin a run for its money are:

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano has been in the ‘Ethereum killer’ camp for some time. We’d previously spoken of ADA and how, based primarily on its price, it has the lowest odds of ultimate dominance.

Yet, what separates Cardano from many other coins is having a limited supply like Bitcoin, which could make it more valuable over time with increasing demand.

However, one gripe among Cardano enthusiasts is that the project hasn’t been fully developed. Therefore, it hasn’t yet truly delivered on its mission.

Solana (SOL)

Solana is another so-called Ethereum killer coin. Unlike Cardano, Solana is already a fully-fledged product with demonstrable use cases and vast adoption. According to CoinMarketCap, SOL is worth $44 and is ranked #9.

Like many other cryptocurrencies, it faces the challenge of having to be many magnitudes more valuable than Bitcoin to overtake it.

Final word

The interesting question of which cryptocurrency will overtake Bitcoin has several layers. Here’s what we believe could happen in the future.

If we’re speaking strictly of greater market cap dominance than Bitcoin, then Ethereum is the cryptocurrency most favourably positioned. However, it doesn’t mean it will be the coin used by the average Joe as a medium of exchange.

Here, it could be another coin or even a central bank-issued cryptocurrency. BTC might still exist and maintain its status as a store of value but be far less prevalent. Ultimately, we are all just speculating. Will Ethereum beat Bitcoin? What about the others? Only time will tell.

*This piece was originally published on Medium.

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About the Creator

Langa Ntuli

- fascinated by the financial markets & TradingView charts. Freelance writer @upwork (www.upwork.com/freelancers/langan)

Medium account: medium.com/@lihle_ntuli

Also a humble music nerd, football fan, knowledge hoarder, peace/love extremist.

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