Altcoin Adventures: Exploring the Future of Cryptocurrency Part 1: Introduction

Introduction:

Altcoins are the new way of cryptocurrency. The main altcoins featured on various cryptocurrency fintech applications are Ethereum, Abritium, Solana, XRP, and other, smaller altcoins. Altcoins are fiat-based currency because Bitcoin backs the Alternative cryptocurrency. According to the World Economic Forum, “The Collection of digital currencies inspired by Bitcoin is collectively called altcoins.” The World Economic Forum said, “There are now thought to be more than 1,100 of them, with a total market capitalization of about $150bn as of October 2017.” (https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/01/introducing-ripple-the-second-most-valuable-digital-currency-after-bitcoin/)

According to Coinbase, Market Capitalization is “a rough gauge for how stable an asset is likely to be…Market capitalization (or market cap) is the total dollar value of all the shares of a company’s stock—or, in the case of Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, of all the coins that have been mined. In crypto, market cap is calculated by multiplying the total number of coins mined by the price of a single coin at any given time.” (Coinbase, n.d., para. 1-2: URL: https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-market-cap).

The formula for Crypto Market Cap is below.

Formula for Crypto Market Cap: Q.C.M * P.S.C

Q.C.M = the quantity of Cryptocurrency mined.

P.S.C = Price of a single coin at any given time.

 The higher the market cap, the stronger the altcoin will be. The market cap can determine whether the coin has enough support in order for the coin to succeed. There are two different types of market capitalization in the crypto ecosystem—"Circulating supply” market cap or “Fully-diluted supply” market cap. The Circulating supply is the current mined coins. The fully diluted supply are the future coins that are going to be mined.  Now that we have the definition of market cap and how it impacts the crypto ecosystem.

Let’s do an average ratio and see how much each one would have if it were spread evenly. If there are 1,100 altcoins, and the total market capitalization is about $150bn, each altcoin would have a total market capitalization of about $136 million. However, this is not the case. Coin Ranking provides a list of the top-performing altcoins. For reference, Coin Ranking defines Altcoins are any other coins or tokens other than Bitcoin. Therefore, with this in mind, Altcoins include Stablecoins, Meme Coins, and other smaller coin categories. As this article is being written, here is the list of the top 10 altcoins and their market cap

1.     Ethereum has a price of $1,575.28 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $190.16 billion

2.     Tether USD has a price of $1.00 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $144.67 billion

3.     XRP (Ripple) has a price of $2.08 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $121.52 billion

4.     BNB (Binance) has a price of $595.49 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $89.54 billion

5.     SOL (Solana) has a price of $136.55 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $70.57 billion

6.     USDC (Circle) has a price of $1.00 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $60.59 billion

7.     Cardano (ADA) has a price of $0.621 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $23.42 billion.

8.     TRON (TRX) has a price of $0.246 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $23.31 billion.

9.     Dogecoin (DOGE) has a price of $0.158 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $23.25 billion.

10.  Lido Staked Ether (StETH) has a price of $1,573.00 and has a “circulating supply” market cap of $14.69 billion.

(URL:https://coinranking.com/coins/altcoin?order=marketCap&direction=desc)

Based on the Ethereum network, other coins are also launching to be publicly traded, including Lightchain.AI. Whereas, Codename.Pepe is based on the Solana Network. Coins underneath the behemoths include Solana, Ethereum, Abritium One, and Bitcoin. Coins based on the Bitcoin network are still considered altcoins. I also have personal stakes in Ethereum, Solana, Lightchain.AI, and other smaller ones. It only takes one coin to strike Gold. However, it is also a waiting game and a high-risk investment. It also only takes one coin to destroy your monetary resource. So, getting an investor’s opinion before investing in cryptocurrency is advisablebecause Cryptocurrency is not FDIC insured (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).  You also have to be strategic and research each coin to see if they are profitable or non-profitable.

Now that the top ten altcoins—the strongest—are circulating, in our next article, we will go on individual Altcoin adventures and explore the future of cryptocurrency by analyzing the top five of the top ten altcoins individually in each of the following articles. We will examine the future of each coin in the next five years using articles and various resources to conclude where the Altcoin will adventure next.