It goes beyond saying that Bitcoin is the flagship of the entire cryptocurrency world. Apart from being a household name when it comes to digital currencies, the last year’s boost in value further cemented its position as the big cryptocurrency. However, now it might be time for it to pass on the torch. Apart from self-popularization, Bitcoin also encouraged others by example. When they witnessed how someone can amass a fortune by recognizing the right cryptocurrency trend in time, people started paying more attention to this global phenomenon.
Needless to say, this led to a greater influx of money into this industry as a whole, which provided resources necessary for the further improvement of this already advanced payment method. Unlike real currencies, cryptocurrencies differ in more than just value. Namely, they have actual traits involving the level of security, speed of transactions and facility of payment, which might serve as an indicator of their performance in future. With this in mind and without further ado, here are some estimates and speculations regarding the issue of the next big cryptocurrency, as well as some techniques on how to recognize a winner.
Visiting market cap should be your first step
The first method of deciding which cryptocurrency is on the rise may seem a bit crude, but it is a powerful indicator that should never be neglected or underestimated. We are of course talking about checking the market cap as well as current supply. In this way, you can inspect the total value of that cryptocurrency and its availability. Keep in mind, however, that this changes at an astounding pace, yet, if a single cryptocurrency shows a steady rise or even manages to cement its position amongst the top 50 for a prolonged period of time, it is definitely worth investigating.
The importance of blockchain
Another thing worth paying attention to is the issue of blockchain technology. Instead of being a centralized, government regulated payment method, digital currencies have their own infrastructure, which allows them to customize the way in which they conduct their operations in several different ways. This resulted in the existence of numerous technologies like blockchain, that stand not only to revolutionize the world of cryptocurrencies but the internet as a whole.
This failsafe technology creates databases whose information cannot be altered or copied, which makes the whole landscape of the industry more reliable. With increased funding, the blockchain infrastructure keeps on growing and expanding, which is a trend that stands to benefit everyone in the digital world.
For this very reason, those cryptocurrency investors that are a bit more tech-savvy tend to invest in cryptocurrencies like Ethereum. This is where a technological trend or a unique feature of a currency becomes its most valuable asset. The problem with Ethereum is that it is not exactly optimized for minor purchases outside of its platform. This is probably a major obstacle for those who hope to elevate it above the other cryptocurrencies.
The rise of ICOs
The growth of the cryptocurrency industry brought in more independent developers than ever. While they have fresh ideas, as well as the outsider’s insight on the trade as a whole, they usually lack funds to compete with infrastructures and cryptography of their predecessors. This is what gave birth to the trend of ICOs (initial coin offering). The advantage of investing in ICOs is the fact that you can acquire a huge amount of coins in their early stages of development, while the downside lies in the fact that they tend to be quite unpredictable.
For this reason, those who still have the idea of investing in ICOs in mind, need to find a reliable source of information like The Blockchain Review. In this way, you will not only learn how to invest in ICO but also how to do this in the safest manner possible. No matter how promising an ICO may seem, they are still a risky business, which is why you need to undertake some safeguards and avoid investing more than you are willing to lose. The risks may be great but so are the potential gains.
Advanced cryptography
At the end of the day, once you’ve gone through things like market cap and supply, you need to look towards cryptography, which is something that usually lies in favor of ICOs and similar new coins on the market. It is easy to improve on old concepts when you arrive late to the game, however, learning from the shortcomings of your predecessors is probably the only path towards progress. In other words, you should look for things like speed and number of transactions per second, the ability to use crypto as a traditional currency (grocery shopping and similar tasks) and the secrecy of transaction.
Conclusion
While it is true that there are still many skeptics out there claiming that it is already too late to get rich off cryptocurrencies or believing that it is all a bubble, the truth is that cryptocurrencies seem as if they are here to stay. The reason behind this is the simple fact that they pose a decentralized, more practical alternative to traditional currency. If pragmatism is one of the most innate human traits, then more convenient is always more superior.
