For several years, Bitcoin was all alone in the blockchain world. Eventually, other cryptocurrencies started to come onto the scene. When a conversation is sparked about cryptocurrency, most people will mention the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum but few people realise there are thousands of other coins or tokens in the marketplace. From Iota, EOS, Digibyte and Litecoin, the market is flooded with various coins and tokens all offering different use cases and technologies, but how many will survive in the long run?
It’s become trivial to create a token, and thanks to the Ethereum toolkit, it’s even simpler to create an Ethereum-based token. These tokens and coins have some of the classic characteristics of Bitcoin but may only be used to buy products or services from the company/platform that made the ICO. The crypto community is divided between those who believe Bitcoin will eventually provide everything investors are looking for in a digital asset, and those who believe multiple cryptocurrencies will exist, with each providing a unique use case.
In this episode of the Decrypto podcast, Gareth Cliff speaks to Riccardo Spagni, the lead maintainer of the Monero blockchain, about the different kinds of tokens, their uses and other coins that exist, among other things.
Key takeaways:
- If anything has a chance of surviving in the long term, it’s Bitcoin. Below Bitcoin, there’s a vast collection of other cryptocurrencies, but it’s unclear as to whether they’ll survive in the next five to ten years.
- It’s become increasingly easy to create a token. There are one-click tools that let you create a fork off of Bitcoin. You can upload a logo, specify the name, the maximum supply and the distribution of the supply.
- The reality is that people aren't building these projects to last. They’re building them for the present and more often than not, they’re building them to just make money. Oftentimes, there’s no clear ideological motivation to build them to change the world for the better.
- There’s potential for Bitcoin to become the world's reserve currency. It’s progressed far and has become a household name, thus reinforcing the aforementioned sentiment.
Link to full episode: https://iono.fm/e/622709
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