With Ethereum removing the stigma attached to “altcoins”, more projects have a chance to prove that name doesn’t matter
Altcoin originally meant “alternative to bitcoin” because, in the early stages of the development of cryptocurrencies, all blockchain-based currencies were considered a kind of imitation of bitcoin (BTC). Cryptocurrencies back then were mainly used for paymentssuch as Litecoin (LTC), XRP (XRP) and Peercoin (PPC). Altcoin was used as a global term for cryptos other than bitcoin.
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That has changed since 2011. With the emergence of more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies, each linked to different types of crypto projects and tokens. We have also seen how Coin prowess spans sectors of public chains, decentralized finance (DeFi), layer 2, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), stablecoins, and more.
If “altcoin” refers to cryptocurrencies that are not bitcoin and have the same characteristics as it, this definition certainly no longer fits all 20,000.
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The evolved definition of an altcoin is now much more precise, generally referring to an altcoin within a particular topic.. Altcoins are typically more advanced in terms of technical features or ecosystem applications, but so far no altcoin has come close to surpassing bitcoin in consensus, ubiquity, or market capitalization.
So with all this in mind, does Ether (ETH) still fit this description?
Ethereum’s changing status as an altcoin
Even Ethereum was first perceived as another bitcoin imitator in the eyes of investors when it first launched in 2015., to the point that Ether did not even break into the top ten of cryptocurrencies that same year. At the time, Ethereum would have absolutely fit the old description of what was considered an altcoin.
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Shaking off this stigma is another story. Ethereum’s status as a preeminent altcoin arose from new developments both in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem and in its own operational capabilities. Technologically, Ethereum surpassed bitcoin to become the first public chain to support smart contracts, essentially catalyzing DeFi..
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Suffice it to say that we have noticed that the decentralized application and community aspects of ether’s growth have created a much more vibrant community. It is not just a coin, but also an ecosystem platform. This growth has only increased since the initial coin offering (ICO) boom of 2017, the DeFi summer of 2020, and the launch of numerous public chains supporting the Ethereum virtual machine. By flexing your muscles in various applications, Ether has emerged as a viable alternative in building legitimate consensus and community support..
Giving Ethereum the altcoin title in 2015 made sense, but its expansive applications and growth since then make that classification a bit restrictive.. And, we haven’t mentioned The Merge yet.
The game changing factor
The Ethereum Merge, an achievement in transitioning the Ethereum consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, it really only represented the first step of a six-part process. The next steps are intended to allow Ethereum to “process 100,000 transactions per second.”
.@VitalikButerin claims that #Ethereum will be able to process “100,000 transactions per second”, following the completion of 5 key phases:
• The Merge
• The Surge
• The Verge
• The Purge
• The SplurgeA quick breakdown of what each stage means for $ETH. pic.twitter.com/FnaWww8mHZ
— Miles Deutscher (@milesdeutscher) July 22, 2022
.@VitalikButerin states that #Ethereum will be able to process “100,000 transactions per second”, after the completion of 5 key phases:
• The Merge
• The Surge
• The Verge
• The Purge
• The SplurgeA quick breakdown of what each stage means for $ETH at the link.
Although The Merge changed several things for the better — including a sharp drop in energy consumption and increased security — investors were not expecting an immediate price boost.. Instead, it was limited to laying the foundations for other infrastructure that could solve its problems in the coming years.
We can also expect part of this infrastructure to include more breakthrough coins emerging as market rivals to Ethereum and bitcoin.. Although ETH holders now have their sights set on a potential flippening, in which the market value of ETH surpasses that of BTC, to truly end the altcoin ranking once and for all, this does not mean that the doors are open. closed to other blockchain players. After all, cryptocurrencies are not meant to be oligopoly.
- Related: After The Merge, ETH Has Been Obsolete
The dominance of some big players like bitcoin and Ethereum in the blockchain arena should not deter the entrepreneurial spirit of other blockchain developers or alternative networks. It’s not really as simple as the bitcoin field vs. the ether field. Networks like Polygon or Kusama already illustrate how Community building and various blockchain applications aren’t just reserved for the big boys in the cryptocurrency space..
If Bitcoin’s position as the original cryptocurrency means that all other coins are forever considered altcoins, then no amount of improvement to Ethereum—the Merge or otherwise—can change that. But if the title is simply a matter of semantics, then altcoins have an opportunity to prove that the name doesn’t matter. Removing the stigma attached to altcoins not only benefits Ether, but the broader community of blockchain and cryptocurrency developers.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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