Bitcoin has started a revolution in decentralization and transparency and will always be remembered for creating enormous wealth for the first users. While Bitcoin still dominates the cryptocurrency markets, with a little more than 50% of the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies in Bitcoin, there have been signs that it could lose its tight grip as the top gaining cryptocurrency.
In fact, Bitcoin has remained in a bear market for much of 2018, and while most of the altcoins are following its lead, some have started to march to a certain extent.
These leading altcoins could be the next wave of cryptocurrencies to take over and drive the general market. And if it is true, you will surely want to have an interest in some, or all.
I do not have a crystal ball, so it is impossible to say with certainty which altcoin could compete for the crown of the next Bitcoin, but I can certainly make some plausible hypotheses
There are honestly dozens of coins these days that have solid teams of development, a good vision and the possibility of becoming the next big cryptocurrency. Following are 5 cryptocurrencies that could become the next Bitcoin.
5 Cryptocurrencies that could overcome Bitcoin
The next bitcoin: Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash was created by a group of people who forked the bitcoin blockchain ledger. It is now controlled by multiple independent developers. It is now one of the most recent among the most popular cryptocurrencies, having been born in August 2017 as part of a Bitcoin hard fork.
A difficult fork is when a new blockchain is created that contains all the information passed from the original coin, in this case Bitcoin, but going forward it works separately from the original currency. Bitcoin Cash was created because some users were frustrated by Bitcoin's high rates and slow processing times.
Some say that Bitcoin Cash is the "real" Bitcoin, and therefore the division between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash continues. Who knows, if Bitcoin Cash can get a widespread adoption could one day overtake Bitcoin as the best currency.
Why I Believe It
Whether it is the "real" Bitcoin, it is obvious that people believe in Bitcoin Cash. Furthermore, I see it as a transactional currency superior to Bitcoin. Given the strong support it currently receives and the adoption by Bitcoin Cash companies as a payment method (while some are simultaneously releasing Bitcoin payments support), I think Bitcoin Cash may be a "safer" choice "by the end of 2018 and beyond.
The Next Bitcoin: IOTA
IOTA is unique in that it is the first cryptocurrency that has not been developed using blockchain technology. Instead it uses a different distributed ledger architecture that is technically known as Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), but that the IOTA development team calls "Tangle".
This new unique architecture has allowed the IOTA to reach already three important milestones in the world of cryptocurrency; cost-free transactions, offline transactions and infinite scalability. Without transaction costs and the ability to scale to infinity, some are hailing IOTA as a replacement not just for Bitcoin, but for blockchain in general. Surely there is a growing number of projects using DAG technology in favor of blockchain technology.
The IOTA also differs from the other coins mentioned above in regards to the provision of machine-to-machine transactions, also known as the Internet of Things. IOTA developers say that in the near future, machines will handle many different types of transactions without human intervention and that technology such as IOTA and Tangle will allow them to do so.
It remains to be seen if they are right, but many large companies are supporting IOTA and are betting on technology that works well for business-to-business transactions.
Why I Believe It
IOTA suffered a quarrel in December due to some erroneously disclosed partnership announcements. Also in this case, the IOTA price has almost tripled in December, despite a large FUD and the volatility of the price of coins.
Obviously the price has decreased along with the crypto market in 2018 and in September 2018 the price is low changed from that one year before. While some questions remain regarding the current centralized status of the IOTA and the use of new untested technologies, the exclusive Tangle network deserves attention and IOTA could explode in the coming years.
The three major industrial partners of IOTA – Volkswagen, Bosch and Fujitsu – certainly seems to have great confidence in the project and has expanded the partnership and unveiled new technologies based on IOTA's Tangle.
The Next Bitcoin: EOS
The EOS coin was developed by Dan Larimer, and is his third foray into criptovalute since he was also the developer of Bitshares and the Steemit project. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, EOS is built on a trial of the pointing system, which means that there is no mining. Instead, those holding EOS coins receive periodic payments of several EOS coins. A bit like a dividend to hold the currency and protect the network.
It also has over 10,000 transactions per second, in addition to parallel processing for those launching DAPPS on the EOS network. Finally, EOS is able to communicate with other blockchains, which is a remarkable achievement, although one is underutilized so far. EOS is quite new, with the genesis block coming on July 1, 2017, but it is rapidly gaining popularity and the currency is already in the top 10 by market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization that exceeds $ 4.6 billion in September 2018.
Because I believe it
EOS has seen its currency increase by almost 1,000% since last September, which is positive considering the bear market that has captured cryptocurrencies for part of 2018. The project itself ended its annual ICO last June, and raised over $ 4 billion. This makes it the largest ever ICO and is proof of the trust investors have in the project. The fact that the project has high transaction speeds, without cost and without the need for a fork to perform updates, makes it a possible successor to Bitcoin.
The Next Bitcoin: Stellar Lumens
The Stellar Lumen is the currency used to avoid transaction spam in the Stellar network. It was created in 2014 with the symbol STR and called Stellar, but was renamed Lumens in March 2015 to avoid the confusion created by having the same currency of the network.
At that time all Bitcoin holders also received Stellar Lumen coins. Many non-profit organizations also received coins at that time as a kind of air drop. There were 100 billion coins created at the moment, which is quite large in the world of cryptocurrencies. At the beginning of 2017, each Stellar Lumen was worth 0.0025, but at the time of writing 0.195443 each is worth
The price of Stellar has held up well throughout the 2018 bear market and Stellar is currently the currency no. market capitalization, just behind EOS. Stellar recently partnered with IBM to enable cross-border payments, which gave a decisive boost to the price of coins when the news was released, and it could be something that catapults it into one of the best coins ever.
Why I Believe It
Money transfer is a great need in today's world, and Stellar Lumens is on track to provide that service at a fraction of the cost of current banking and online methods . You can also do it almost instantaneously, which means you could shoot $ 1000 to your backpacker mate in Thailand and receive it in seconds and in Thai baht, regardless of which currency or cryptocurrency you send.
Stellar already has collaborations with IBM and KlickEx for cross-border payments. The currency doubled in December, but decreased when the entire market withdrew in 2018. It also doubled in April during the mini-rally in the cryptomarkets. On a technical basis the level of $ 0.20 seems to be favorable to the price, having already held three times 2018.
The Next Bitcoin: DASH
At the heart of DASH is a completely peer-to-peer network encouraged. Miners are rewarded for the safety of the blockchain and the masternodes are rewarded for validating, archiving and blockchain service to users. In this sense it is slightly different from Bitcoin. However, there are differences with DASH, such as additional security and anonymity in transactions.
Transactions made with Dash are private, secure and untraceable. The transactions are almost instantaneous and the rates are extremely low, in some cases non-existent. It was originally launched in January 2014 as XCoin, it was renamed DarkCoin the following month and in March 2015 it was finally rebranded in DASH, which is a portmanteau for "Digital Cash".
Why I Believe It
Dash has been around for a long time, not as much as Bitcoin is sure of it, but longer than most of his brothers' blockchain projects. Dash's focus on anonymity and security gave a strong impetus, as one of the important features of cryptocurrencies for many fans is the aspect of privacy.
With low rates and almost instantaneous transactions Dash is a step above Bitcoin and the market has rewarded bringing it to point n. 11 by market capitalization. Some have criticized Dash for being launched as a for-profit initiative from day one, but it is only the mentality that sees continuing to tighten partnerships.
The Next Bitcoin: Conclusion
Bitcoin ushered in a new era of currency. It does not matter how much the traditional Bitcoin thinks and the new cryptocurrencies that are here to stay. The currencies of Fiat can continue to live alongside them with certainty, but trade will increasingly see the adoption of cryptocurrencies.
What cryptocurrency is the big question.
So many projects remain in alpha or beta, existing on testnet or little more than a whitepaper and a vision. The five projects highlighted above have passed the test of time, as short as it could be for cryptocurrencies. They are tried and on the road to greater adoption and visibility.
Will each one of these 5 become the next Bitcoin? Possibly. Even if they do not, I believe everything will survive and become important for global trade, whether at the retail level, or more in the background through the Internet of objects, or through commercial transactions.
Keep an eye on these five coins and you could see great things.