If you're relatively new to cryptocurrency/blockchain tech, you might be looking at all these shiny Kush, THC, SpankWire, SexCoin, GameWhatever coins, and be thinking, "These are huge market segments. This is a no-brainer."
That's what it is. A no-brainer. But not in a good way.
Now, I'm all for short term gains. You can throw a dart at a crypto listing and make those, this year. Great. You do you.
But as a part of a long-term portfolio?
Nah.
Why? Because they are replications of replications of bigger, more functional currencies. There is no compelling reason for industry-wide adoption. In fact, those markets get more diluted every day, weakening the positions of everyone involved.
They lack the value and network size of Bitcoin, the functionality of Ethereum, and the anonymity of Monero.
Even if one of the boutique SDRR (sex, drugs, rock-n-roll) coins makes it, for some inexplicable reason, it would take years. And that would mean one of them. Good luck figuring out which, in each field, has a long-term future.
Ask Crypt0Hoe if she'd prefer TitCoin over Bitcoin.
Figure out which dispensary wants which of the many Potcoins out there.
Your only real hope in the gaming market would be something that is tied to a game that becomes wildly successful. The next World of Warcraft, Minecraft, etc. Mana or Voxels might be a possible outlier. Way too soon to tell. Probably unlikely. But it at least remains a possibility.
The idea of a universal gaming, pot, or sex token is a pipedream.
For long-term growth, you might want to go meta, and look into something like SONM, which will receive the benefit of the gaming and movie markets by providing much needed data processing services for those industries. O.G. crypto (BTC, ETH, ZCash, etc.) are already welcome almost anywhere crypto is accepted. Reinventing the wheel is most unlikely, at this point.
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.