Can These Coins Topple Bitcoin From Its Throne in 2024?
2023 brought some much-needed resurgence to the crypto industry. The previous year’s “crypto winter” had a devastating impact on several areas of the market, but, thankfully, 2023 ended on a much brighter note. In fact, the stage is now set for the crypto sector to head into a bull run here in 2024 and there’s one coin in particular that appears to be leading the charge.
Bitcoin, the world’s “first” cryptocurrency, is on track to have a stellar time over the coming 12 months, with plenty of analysts predicting a super cycle for the coin. Several events are scheduled for 2024 that are lining up to ensure BTC will do better this year than ever, the most anticipated of which is April’s halving, which will see its inflation rate drop to as low as 0.85%.
With a market cap at the time of writing of $835.05 billion, it’s pretty clear that Bitcoin is the standout leader in the decentralized industries. But are there any tokens out there that could topple it from its throne as the year progresses? Let’s take a look.
Why Bitcoin is the Market Leader
First, though, let’s take a closer look at just why BTC is such a top performer.
2023 delivered a standout rally for the crypto and Bitcoin finished up 2023 at a 12-month high valuation of $45,000 (representing a 180% increase since the start of the year). Undoubtedly, much of its success could be attributed to the surge in interest following BlackRock’s Spot BTC ETF (exchange-traded fund) application — and the 10 proceeding ETFs that were launched following SEC approval on January 10th this year. But then, Bitcoin was already immensely popular and, even in its lowest stages of valuation, significantly outperformed any other token in its asset class.
During the early days of the crypto industry, Bitcoin was often viewed as more legitimate than altcoins, largely due to the high security and transparency of its underlying blockchain. Of course, things have progressed significantly since then and we’ve seen plenty of other decentralized currencies launched that have proven the reliability of alternative DLTs, but BTC still comes out on top.
Utility is another factor that plays a big role in ensuring the longevity of interest in Bitcoin. Simply put, it’s the most widely-accepted cryptocurrency in both the digital realm and in real-life situations. Online, Bitcoin can be used to purchase goods at major eCommerce sites like Shopify and sustains a substantial portion of the decentralized gaming sector, being in use in diverse activities from playing crypto blackjack at iGaming platforms to funding play-to-earn campaigns. Blockchain gaming is something that various industry representatives will be exploring for a long time. Meanwhile, it’s not just the primary token used in peer-to-peer transactions and international remittances, it’s a popular investment strategy against inflation too. Can any Coin Top BTC?
Bitcoin is certainly a hard act to follow and even though thousands of cryptocurrencies have come into existence since it was created in 2009, none have been able to come anywhere near as close to it in terms of both value and popularity. Could all that change in 2024, though?
Well, although the scheduled halving event in April will provide BTC with the most value increase — analysts at Blockware Solutions predict a single bitcoin could hit $400,000 — it’s another opportunity for alternative coins to enter the spotlight too. After all, the more mainstream attention that’s shone on the crypto market, the better! While they may not necessarily top it in terms of value, these are the coins that will nevertheless display the highest growth potential in 2024.
Ethereum (ETH)
Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum had a much quieter year in 2023. It still managed to gain a substantial 80% rise in value at one stage, but in comparison with the likes of Solana (which jumped up by as much as 900%), it had a slow, but steady 12 months. In spite of this, it remains the leading crypto for DeFI, yield farming, NFTs, and plenty of other niche use cases.
In 2024, ETH trading volume could be on the increase as the blockchain gets another critical upgrade. The EIP-4844 is the first scheduled upgrade to follow ‘The Merge’ back in 2022, which transformed the network from proof work to proof of stake. What’s more, the launch of the Ethereum Layer 2 Blast Network has already generated substantial interest, with over $230 million worth of ETH and stablecoin investments having already been transferred over by crypto enthusiasts.
Polygon (MATIC)
Polygon and its unique token MATIC are rising stars in the crypto industry, especially with the recent acceleration of the DeFi and Web 3.0 sectors. A Layer 2 Ethereum network itself, Polygon is particularly excelling when it comes to improving the scalability of its parent chain, making it more applicable for use in dApps, etc.
MATIC is already a high-performing cryptocurrency. Even though its price per token currency pales in comparison with BTC or ETH, its $8.25 billion market cap and limited supply make it incredibly popular with savvy investors. What’s more, Polygon is partnered with several major brands including Starbucks, Nike, Meta Platforms, and Walt Disney to launch NFT projects.
