Popularity of Altcoins Dampens Bitcoin Payments: Report

Following the birth of Bitcoin in 2009, an estimated 7,000 more cryptocurrencies have been launched that are presently in circulation. While Bitcoin remains the reigning king of the crypto world, some other cryptocurrencies have also emerged as popular choices for transactions in recent times. Cryptocurrencies other than the Bitcoin are termed as “altcoins”. Ether, Litecoin, and Dash are among the altcoins that are rapidly gaining popularity among investors.

As per a Bloomberg report, Bitcoin payments fell to 65 percent in 2021 from 92 percent in 2020 on crypto payments processor BitPay.

Ether was used to facilitate 15 percent of crypto payments on BitPay, along with Litecoin and Dash making up for the remaining percentage of transactions.

Given the volatile nature of the crypto market, businesses have begun replacing mega cryptos like Bitcoin with stablecoins, especially for cross-border payments. A stablecoin is a category of cryptocurrencies that attempt to offer price stability and are backed by government controlled reserve assets such as gold.

Meanwhile, meme-coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have also gained traction over the last year with companies like Tesla and AMC Theatres adding them as payment options respectively.

Bloomberg’s report is in line with what industry experts have also noted as part of their predictions for Bitcoin’s 2022 journey.

“With altcoins gaining ground amongst retail investors, we may see other digital assets challenging Bitcoin’s pole position and place as a safe haven asset in 2022,” the research team at Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX had told Gadgets 360 recently.

Also, the development coincides with a Glassnode report that recently revealed that Bitcoin investors are more interested in holding and accumulating tokens, rather than spending them.

Bitcoin holders are clearly expecting big returns on their holdings in the days to come.

Presently, each Bitcoin crypto token is trading at $45,395 (roughly Rs. 33.7 lakh). Bitcoin had attained its last all-time high of $68,000 (roughly Rs. 50.5 lakh) in the second half of 2022.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.