Bitcoin Maintains Dominance Despite Increasing Number of Altcoins
Bitcoin (BTC) has remained the biggest crypto asset for almost four years now, despite a massive proliferation of altcoins in the same time frame. BTC’s superiority in terms of both price and market capitalization is often attributed to the fact that it was the first decentralized cryptocurrency, and thus has first-mover advantage.
However, other factors have contributed to BTC’s dominance, including its relatively mature development ecosystem, strong brand recognition, and an active and engaged community.
Chief technology officer Casa, Jameson Lopp, pointed out in a tweet an important fact about bitcoins dominance. Lopp highlighted that in April 2018 bitcoin’s market share stood at 42%, with approximately 1,500 other crypto assets in existence at the time. By April 2022, that figure has only ticked down a little to 41%, with more than 15,000 altcoins now competing with it in the crypto pool.
Lopp’s tweet goes to show that bitcoins dominance has increased since the altcoin boom of 2017 when more than 1,000 new crypto assets hit the market.
In other words, while the total number of cryptos has exploded in the past four years, bitcoin’s market share has actually significantly grown.
Lopp didn’t specify his source for this data on the number of altcoins. However, after further research on the matter, CryptoMarketCap shows that there are almost 19,000 “cryptos,” while CoinGecko gives a number closer to 14,000.
In either case, the stat could be seen as a testament to the staying power that the number one cryptocurrency has managed to achieve versus other cryptos over the past five years.
It’s also a sign that, despite all the talk of how altcoins are “eating” into bitcoin’s market share, the truth is that the king coin has actually been able to grow its dominance even as the crypto landscape has become more crowded.
Another interesting fact about bitcoin’s dominance is the fact that if ethereum (ETH) is taken out of the competing cryptos equation, bitcoin’s market share dominance jumps significantly over 90%.
This is because, as previously mentioned, Ethereum has managed to carve out a sizeable portion of the crypto market for itself, and is currently the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
But while bitcoin’s dominance might be seen as a good thing by some in the crypto community, it’s also worth noting that the high level of concentration could also be seen as a risk. This is because if bitcoin were to suddenly lose favor with investors, it could have a devastating effect on the entire crypto market.
So far, however, bitcoin has continued to maintain its position as the top crypto despite facing stiff competition from altcoins. Not all parties agree that bitcoin will remain the best crypto investment bet going forward. For example, hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz has predicted that Ethereum will eventually overtake bitcoin as the most valuable cryptocurrency.
The question of whether bitcoin will continue to dominate the crypto market is one that remains to be seen. However, one thing is certain: the rise of altcoins has made the crypto market more exciting than ever before.
I am a bitcoin and crypto currency writer. I also work as a professional trader, and I have experience with stock trading and bitcoin trading. In my work, I aim to provide clear and concise information that helps people understand these complex topics.
