en
Back to the list

Could Bitcoin Lose Its Number One Spot in the Crypto Space?

source-logo  altcoinbuzz.io 19 January 2022 04:48, UTC

Bitcoin is the world’s foremost cryptocurrency. However, in recent times, more focus has been directed towards altcoins and stablecoins.

Is the popular “King Crypto” losing its number one spot? According to crypto payment processing platform BitPay, this could be the case. Bloomberg, in a recent report, disclosed that Bitcoin payments reduced drastically in 2021 on BitPay. Adding that BTC payments experienced a whopping 27% drop between 2020 and 2021. That is from 92% in 2020 down to 65% in 2021. The report also added that the drop can be traced to increasing interest in altcoins and stablecoins in the crypto space.

The Rise of the Crypto Era

Bitcoin was the world’s first-ever digital currency built using blockchain technology. Following its launch in 2009, many other cryptocurrencies have also gone live.

Any other crypto apart from Bitcoin was referred to as “Alternative Coin” or “altcoin.” The world’s first-ever altcoin was the Ethereum (ETH) coin. According to CoinGecko, there are currently more than 12,000 altcoins available today.

Bitcoin, Altcoin, and Stablecoins

Bitcoin still holds the spot as the most popular crypto. However, some other crypto exchanges are showing more prospectus as an alternative transaction choice in recent times. Some of these altcoins include Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), Litecoin (LTC), Dash, etc. Interestingly, stablecoins like USDT and USDC have also garnered a lot of attention as an alternative to Bitcoin in terms of completing transactions.

Also, the rise in stablecoin usage is a result of its valuation. Most stablecoins are backed 1:1 with U.S. dollars. Making them a good hedge against the volatile nature of digital assets, Bitcoin inclusive. Most institutional-grade crypto investors prefer to leave their assets or holdings as stablecoins.

Memecoins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin have also made waves in the crypto space last year. Top companies like Tesla incorporated them as payment options. Interestingly, AMC Theatres recently also added Dogecoin and Shiba Inu to its list of accepted cryptocurrencies.

According to the reports, Ether currently facilitates approximately 15% of all cryptocurrency payments on BitPay. And that both Litecoin and Dash facilitate the other transaction percentages on the crypto payment processing platform.

Speaking on this development, Indian exchange CoinDCX disclosed that “[…] we may see other digital assets challenging Bitcoin’s pole position and place as a safe haven asset in 2022.”

Also, a recent report by Glassnode also supported the general notion that BTC transactions were on a decline. Adding that most BTC investors are “[…] more interested in holding and accumulating tokens, rather than spending them.”

Bitcoin Price

At the time of writing, the foremost crypto was trading at $41,678.20, with a market cap of $789,118,829,791 and a 24-hour trading volume of $18,686,392,276. The token price is also down by 0.6% in the last 24 hours.

altcoinbuzz.io