Bitcoin (BTC) has certainly been losing market share. It’s undeniable that up-and-coming alternative cryptocurrency options – or “altcoins” – are posing new and innovative threats to the original crypto-coin: BTC.

Bitcoin is trading at $16,219 at the time of writing, making this the most valuable cryptocurrency worldwide – and by a longshot. Its total market value is currently a whopping $272.3 billion. The next-closest cryptocurrency is Ripple (XRP), which is only valued at $123.2 billion. That’s less than half of Bitcoin.

But that’s ignoring the fact that Ripple has surged in value over the last month, gaining more than 1,000% – while Bitcoin has gained less than 1% in the same period.

And there are other top altcoins that are outshining Bitcoin at the same time. Litecoin (LTC), for instance, (aka the “silver” to bitcoin’s “gold”) has gained 125% in the past month. In 5th place is Cardano (ADA), which has gained nearly 800% in the past month.

With Bitcoin (BTC) Being Outperformed, Is this Crypto Coin Even Worth the Investment?

Let’s face it: cryptocurrency has officially become mainstream. This hitting the mainstream has been the strongest with Bitcoin – and it is hands down the most talked-about coin on the market.

But its growth path has simply not delivered the same kind of returns that hot altcoins are delivering right now. Bitcoin has been cycling between $10,000 and $20,000 for the past 30 days – and it’s not looking like it will break that pattern anytime soon.

It is, indeed, hard to look at coins like Cardano (ADA) and Stellar (XLM) sitting next to Bitcoin (BTC) and still want to go for the priciest option. Even though you can easily buy fractions of BTC, coins that cost less than $10.00 per unit are mentally more appealing to a lot of small-time investors.

Combine that with the fact that altcoins are delivering better returns (and faster, cheaper transactions) – Bitcoin is becoming a hard investment choice to stick with.