- The market dominance of Bitcoin reduces as valuable altcoins increase
- Cosmos is set to launch its Stargate update on Feb. 18, taking interoperability to another level
- Polkadot has grown from $9 to $20 in 2020
- Electroneum was one of the key players in the remittance industry for 2020
Altcoins or alternative cryptocurrencies have been known to add diversity, flare, and extra use to the crypto market being largely dominated by Bitcoin and Ethereum. As more valuable altcoins emerge, the dominance Bitcoin holds over the crypto market reduces.
In January, the market dominance of Bitcoin reached as high as 70 percent, however, BTC currently dominates 61 percent of the market. Some of the altcoins you should be excited about in 2021 are;
Cosmos (ATOM)
Cosmos is one of the little known, yet top performing altcoins. The project focuses on addressing the problems of scalability in many blockchains. The project was launched in 2019 with the goal of creating an “internet of blockchains” that resolves both scalability and interoperability issues in blockchains.
Through the IBC and Peg-Zones features on the Cosmos blockchain, other blockchains can transfer value with each other while still retaining their sovereignty. Blockchain applications that integrate Cosmos can scale to millions of users through its horizontal and vertical scalability solutions.
The Binance Chain, the stablecoin system Terra, the oracle project Band, the privacy blockchain Oasis, and the MakerDAO-like collateralized debt platform Kava are some of the projects that have used the interoperability features of the Cosmos blockchain.
Cosmos is set to take the lead in blockchain interoperability with another update. With the long-awaited Stargate update coming on Feb. 18, many Cosmos-based projects are expected to get a new level of interoperability.
Sponsored
ATOM is ranked as one of the crypto projects with the most potentials for growth. It currently ranks as the 19th largest digital asset with a market capitalization of over $3 billion.
In January ATOM traded for $6.5, however, the ATOM coin currently trades for $14.19. More than 115 percent over the last 30 days, with room for more growth in the coming days.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot has been touted as the Ethereum killer, endorsed by the business magazine Bloomberg in December 2020. Like Ethereum, this altcoin offers an open-source sharding multichain protocol that facilitates the cross-chain transfer tokens.
But unlike Ethereum, customized side-chains that connect with public and private blockchains, permissionless networks, oracles, and future technologies can be launched on Polkadot.
In addition, other data or asset types, not just tokens, can be launched on Polkadot, thereby making it interoperable with a wide range of blockchains.
Unique Network which recently won the Hackusama competition is one of the new projects built on the Polkadot network. Other projects include the very popular ChainLink (building the Web 3.0 ecosystem), Acala Network, Ocean Protocol, and Rio Chain among others.
As the Polkadot continues to gain recognition as the project to replace Ethereum, the DOT coin has been enjoying immense growth. DOT opened the year trading at $9 now trades above $20. Its 120 percent growth makes it one of the best performing digital assets in 2021.
Polkadot now ranks as the 6th largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $18.75 billion compared to the $7.44 billion it was valued at in January.
On the Flipside
- Indian crypto platforms are starting a campaign to deter the expected ban on cryptocurrencies
- The government had previously announced a bill that will halt the use of cryptocurrencies in India
- Industry executives believe that the government’s concern lies around the use of cryptocurrencies as an alternative to the Indian Rupee
Electroneum (ETN)
Electroneum is a mobile phone-focused crypto platform that offers a revolutionary instant payment system. The focus of Electroneum is to provide the quickest and safest crypto transaction with minimal fees for the world’s unbanked population.
In March 2018, Electroneum launched the first android mobile mining application where people could take advantage of the processors of their device to mine ETN coins.
The project has found use cases in many third-world and developing countries, where it provides citizens with a quicker crypto alternative to traditional banking services.
Starting the year with a value of $0.004584, ETN coins are now valued at $0.005246. Electroneum is ranked as the 323rd largest crypto with a market cap of $55 million, which leaves a lot of room for growth.
In recent times, Electroneum has made significant moves for expansion. Electroneum partnered with LockTrip to make ETN coins available in the aviation industry. The global remittance software report for 2020 also listed Electroneum as one of the key players in the industry.
