It’s been 16 years since the dawn of the crypto industry, and Bitcoin continues to have no real rival. Even those who don’t support or are simply not interested in crypto know that Bitcoin is the most celebrated and recognized asset in its class – so much so that when it comes to digital currencies, people often say that there’s crypto and then there’s Bitcoin, emphasizing that the leading coin is not like the rest and should be placed in a category of its own.
There are many different cryptocurrencies in the market right now – over 17,000, according to the latest count – but none of them are on the same par with Bitcoin in any way. That’s why they are referred to as altcoins. Obviously, this provides ample diversification opportunities, giving investors interested in learning how to cryptocurrency the possibility to supplement their portfolios with other crypto assets that are not Bitcoin, and thus create a more balanced holding.
Nevertheless, the discrepancy between Bitcoin and altcoins is more than obvious, and it doesn’t stem just from the value gap. Indeed, Bitcoin is the most valuable crypto in the market, and there’s never been a time when it wasn’t in the lead price-wise. But there are many other reasons why Bitcoin remains investors’ favorite, and we’re going to break them down for you shortly.
The Bitcoin brand
Bitcoin isn’t just a coin – it’s a groundbreaking innovation whose genesis marked a pivotal paradigm shift in finance by proposing a new way to transfer value that isn’t intermediated by central entities or conventional financial institutions. Although attempts at creating a digital form of money that’s not reliant on middlemen have existed in the past, Bitcoin was the first to bring the concept to life and make it available to the broader public.
In doing so, the original crypto has built a brand so powerful that it has become synonymous with the crypto industry. When you say crypto, you say Bitcoin. That’s not to undermine the achievements of other crypto projects. We can think of many noteworthy crypto initiatives, such as Ethereum, Ripple, Solana, Tether, Tron, Binance Coin, and so on, that have brought significant contributions to the development of the sector.
However, it can’t be denied that Bitcoin’s first mover advantage gives it a unique appeal and a significant competitive edge. As the originator of the crypto class, it makes perfect sense for people to focus on Bitcoin and see it as the best, and sometimes only, option in terms of investment.
The endurance
There are very few constants in a market that’s known and criticized for its volatility, and Bitcoin is one of those constants. Bitcoin can take a punch and bounce back as if nothing ever happened. We know that because we’ve seen this scenario play out several times in the past, and we’ll most likely witness it in the future as well. The main crypto has experienced every market downturn ever, and it has never failed to recover.
Not even the harsh crypto winters that wiped out billions of dollars from the market and caused the collapse of many crypto companies were able to bring Bitcoin down, despite the losses it suffered. In the face of adversity, Bitcoin always finds the strength and resources to persevere, most likely due to its strong fundamentals. That can’t be said about all altcoins, as many of them stand on a frail foundation that threatens to crumble at the slightest disturbance.
The deflationary model
Bitcoin’s capacity to endure ups and downs and preserve its worth over time also highlights its potential as a long-term store of value, a feature that makes it markedly different from fiat money. In the traditional financial system, governments are in charge of issuing and regulating the money supply, and gradually increase the amount of money they print to sustain the economy. However, an unfortunate effect of this practice is the decline in the currencies’ purchasing power due to a general surge in the prices of goods and services.
By contrast, Bitcoin has been specifically designed to maintain its purchasing power in the long run. Its supply is capped at 21 million coins, and the mining mechanism that controls the issuance of new tokens ensures that only very small fractions of BTC can be launched into circulation – and those fractions are getting smaller with time. This fixed framework guarantees Bitcoin remains a scarce asset, which can push its value higher and lead to greater demand.
The unmatched performance
Since Bitcoin is the archetype crypto and served as a source of inspiration for all the crypto projects that came after it, most of the core features and values it boasts are common to many tokens. For example, Bitcoin is not the only crypto asset that has a fixed supply or can be used as a store of value.
However, just because Bitcoin is not entirely unique doesn’t mean it’s comparable with other digital currencies or that it can be easily replaced by one of them. All it takes is a quick look at the figures and stats to realize that Bitcoin is light-years ahead of its peers in terms of performance.
Bitcoin’s market cap alone, which currently stands at $2,419.52B USD, tells of its indisputable dominance. To put things into perspective, Ethereum, which is the second-largest crypto, has a market cap of only $523.71B USD. Bitcoin also accounts for over 60% of the entire crypto market, so it’s easy to see how improbable it is for another digital currency to ever come close to its performance. No altcoin is as established, popular, resilient, and reliable as Bitcoin.
All these aspects highlight why most investors don’t even bother to research the market and look beyond Bitcoin when they want to gain exposure to crypto. They prefer to take the safest and most straightforward route and stick with an asset that has proven its worth and potential time and time again.
