Bitcoin is the first and oldest cryptocurrency, making it the progenitor of all the other alternative coins available today. Altcoins derives its name from two words, “alternative and coins” and it is a term used to generally describe all the other cryptocurrencies aside from the oldest bitcoin. They are the crypto coins launched after the bitcoin or simply crypto coins other than bitcoin.
Today, the Coinmarket cap has a listing of over 1000 cryptocurrencies, and every other coin aside from bitcoin is regarded as an altcoin. The market capitalization as of December 2019 has listed the top five altcoins to be Ethereum, XRP, Tether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. These coins have a combined trading volume of over 90 billion United States dollars, and their price varies significantly.
Even though some altcoins are quite old, the number of altcoins in the top five in terms of market capitalization during the earlier days of cryptocurrencies are no longer around or not as popularly demanded as they were in the past. This trend suggests that a coin’s value is not determined by how old it has been in the market but the value, usability, and acceptability. The market capitalization, which is a vital evaluation criterion for cryptocurrencies, describes the market value. It is usually calculated by indicating the cryptocurrency’s market price multiplied by the total number of coins circulating in the crypto market.
Are there altcoins developed for narrowly defined use-cases? Yes, there are. A typical example is the JIFUcoin developed by JIFU used as a means of payment on JIFU platforms for services such as Travel, JIFUshop- an online e-commerce platform and an affiliate marketing template that offers rewards for people who use the coin and refer others. You can use this link https://calendly.com/jifuhq to schedule a meeting to make inquiries about the benefits and opportunities you can derive by using the JIFUcoin. It is a stable coin that is backed by crypto and regular Fiat currency, the US dollar.
What are the similarities of altcoins?
Generally, most cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, Ehtereum, and others can be used across different platforms and not just their native environment. Many altcoins are similar to bitcoins but only offer slightly different features making them unique such as different mining algorithms or an alternative distribution method.
Even at that, most altcoins function primarily as cryptocurrencies to serve as a store of value and for handling decentralized peer-to-peer-payments. These coins may offer more privacy or higher transaction speed than other coins. Some altcoins have also been developed for very narrowly defined use-cases, making them diverge from bitcoin’s original purpose peer-to-peer payment network.
Can altcoins “die” out?
Yes, there have been many altcoins after the launch of Bitcoin that failed or were used as experimental models designed not to survive in the first instance. There have also been cases of altcoins launched as scam projects or what is known as pump-and-dump coins. The leading cause of failure has often been the lack of utility because an altcoin offers the same value as a more popular altcoin, giving users the same service and features. More than 1,000 cryptocurrencies have failed in the past, meaning they traded for values below US$ 0.01.
What’s the Future of Altcoins?
Many have argued that up to 99 percent of all altcoins will eventually be worthless in the cryptocurrency world. This belief is because all cryptocurrencies have been developed because of Bitcoin. Others believe a solid altcoin like JIFUcoin should have a particular use case — to address a narrowly defined purpose and need within an appropriate regulatory framework, with an enduring development of mass adoption to increase its value in the long term.
*JIFUcoin is not available for purchase in the US, Columbia, and wherever prohibited by law.
