One of the main exchanges worldwide, Coinbase, presented statistics that reflect a large movement of retail investors from bitcoin to altcoins. Retail volume on Coinbase shows a greater propensity to buy and trade alternative assets after entering the ecosystem from BTC.
According to an Exchange post, among customers with at least five purchases, 60% start trading bitcoin, but only 24% adhere to it exclusively. In total, it is estimated that more than 75% eventually trade with other assets.
"This could be for a variety of reasons, but one is largely psychological. As people feel good about their initial investments in cryptocurrencies (in Bitcoin), they branch out to find other potential categorical winners (as evident in the 2017 bullfight), ”said specialist Justin Mart.
While the momentum may respond to Coinbase's addition of new assets, another important factor is price volatility. The ups and downs in cryptocurrency quotes also affect the behavior of small investors to dabble in new altcoins.
This trend first appeared in 2017, and is now evident in big spikes. Especially in late 2019 (with Tezos, Chainlink, BAT, 0x and Stellar) and again in early 2020 (powered by Ethereum, Tezos and Chainlink), ”reads the report.
Although BTC continues to lead the market with a broad advantage compared to altcoins, the alternative market within the ecosystem continues to grow, and the reference cryptocurrency seems to be the gateway to the emerging world of crypto investments.
“Bitcoin is king, and it is likely to remain so for a long time. But it is also paving the way for a thousand flowers to bloom, ”the document concludes.