The 4 Altcoins Poised For Long-Term Success

The altcoin market has become arguably more interesting than bitcoin itself over the last year or so. That’s a subjective statement, but the mere fact that there’s getting to be so much diversity in alt coins makes them interesting to study and monitor. Bitcoin is what it is at this point, and though dramatic fluctuations in its price, plus it’s overall superior value make it the most important cryptocurrency to monitor, it’s not necessarily one in which anything new happens.

With altcoins, things are different. There are always new ones sprinting up, the existing ones are always being understood a little bit better, and a few are starting to position themselves as legitimate long-term commodities or even everyday assets or conveniences. It’s all rather fascinating to follow, and it introduces the question of which of them are poised to stick around.

The truth of the matter is that there could well be a dozen of them or more that remain relevant for five years, 10 years, and into the future. At this stage however, these are the four altcoins that appear most likely to achieve lasting, long-term success (excluding bitcoin cash, which is effectively a more convenient offshoot of bitcoin).

Ethereum

Ethereum has definitely become one of the most popular alternatives to bitcoin, to the point that it’s being used as an investment for retirement in some cases. We wouldn’t necessarily advise going the crypto route for this specific purpose, as it’s an inherently high-risk market. With that said however there are some factors that suggest ethereum (and the coin ether) could have significant long-term value. This is a cryptocurrency that’s designed to be built upon and altered to serve more purposes, with ether existing as the currency to support those purposes. Thus, as the ethereum network expands, so - in theory - should the value of the tokens.

Ripple

Like ethereum, ripple is believed to have long-term value because of its purpose as opposed to any detailed financial indicators. Ripple is a little bit tricky to understand but it’s effectively a cryptocurrency that was designed for banking and international money transfers. The idea is just that the right cryptocurrency can make these kinds of transactions faster and more hassle-free. Ripple therefore relies less on individual use and widespread adoption and more on gradual recognition and appreciation from banks.

Zcash

This is an altcoin that offers two types of transactions and that alone separates it fairly substantially from bitcoin. One type of transaction is effectively an imitation of bitcoin with a different currency. The other, however, is designed to provide more privacy to the people involved in a transaction, which is something a lot of people want from cryptocurrency. It’s still a tall order for a fairly direct alternative to overcome bitcoin - but outlasting it due to people’s preference for privacy may well be possible.

LOOM

LOOM is a little bit more of a newcomer on the big stage of cryptocurrency, and is actually built on ethereum. But as a sort of blockchain network meant to facilitate gaming and social media transactions, it has potential to grow on its own. The LOOM token is the currency here, and it has clear potential to become a lasting, valuable commodity in online circles.