By Ron Chen, Correspondent ASEAN Region

All cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoins are known as altcoins. With the crypto market crashing recently and the prices of Bitcoins witnessing a heavy turbulence, investors are changing their assets from Bitcoins to altcoins as they are comparatively inexpensive, offer a significant growth potential and are paving the way for the next crypto revolution, says GlobalData.

While Bitcoin is the most mainstream accessible cryptocurrency that has attracted the maximum interest, investors have begun to explore other coins hoping to replicate Bitcoin’s meteoric rise. Altcoins are scalable, affordable, provide efficient and cost-effective means to conduct transactions. Despite striking parallels, the great majority of altcoins offer unique services and functions.

Principal Disruptive Tech Analyst at GlobalData, Manish Dixit comments: “Bitcoins have been the focus of most institutional and retail investors for a while. However, limited availability, scalability and high prices are compelling the investors to shift their investments from Bitcoins to Altcoins to gain revenue from it. Additionally, Altcoins offer investors with a choice for those keen on broadening their portfolio and experiment with tokens that offer an alternate interpretation of the idea of cryptocurrencies. Altcoins are energy efficient which also translates to a lower carbon footprint and can accommodate more transactions every second.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Disruptor Intelligence Centre reveals the boost of Altcoins has piqued the attention of public corporations and it is witnessing high level of deal activity. Some select deals include:

Applied Blockchain Inc securing a US$16.5m funding to scale a large Ethereum/Altcoin mining operation through strategic partnerships

Binance’s acquisition of CoinMarketCap for US$400m in 2020, other Binance acquisitions include BxB DappReview and WazirX .

Goldman Sachs backed Circle’s acquisition of US crypto exchange Poloniex for roughly US$400m in 2018.

Bitcoin had been on an incredible upward trend. From its value of US$3,800 in March 2020 to its peak in April 2021, the cryptocurrency gained about 1500 per cent. However, with the crypto markets crashing almost 30 per cent in May 2021, serious investors, or those with some appetite for risk, will see this as a blip on the future, with the crypto values likely to soar once again.

Dixit concludes: “It is common in many volatile markets, including cryptocurrency, to see a dip in value after a strong rally. The price rally gained traction in April 2021, when the digital currency reached its pinnacle in over three years. In the previous cycle, Bitcoin peaked in December of 2017, while other cryptocurrencies (altcoins) peaked in January. Due to Bitcoin’s high price points, altcoins look to be lucrative for investors and act as a smart contingency option if Bitcoin’s value falls. Given the transient nature of bitcoins, the adoption of altcoins is expected to accelerate. The surge in altcoins, is challenging Bitcoin’s market dominance, with Altcoins being considered as an alternative to springboard the next crypto surge.”