Welcome To The Altcoin Wasteland

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This is my opinion and should not be considered investment advice... I heartily advise everyone to do their own research and not to depend on "experts." (Of which I am certainly not one!)

Something crazy is going on in the altcoin markets lately, as well as other places. First off, all markets seem to be on the downswing. Gold is under $1200 per oz. and silver is hanging in just over $15.00 an oz., so it's not only cryptos that are looking grim. At last check, the market cap in cryptos is just under $186 billion with BTC holding a 54.1% market share... pretty anemic. BTC is holding just over $6000, but it's the altcoins that are bearing the brunt of the plunge- why?

What appears to be happening is panic selling in the altcoin market with investors putting their money back into BTC... this is likely what's propping up BTC prices at the moment. It's also providing a plethora of investment opportunities in altcoins, but investors appear reticent to go there. For the first time in nearly a year Ethereum is under $300, and in my opinion this is not going to be the bottom. I think ETH is a platform that has seen its heyday... when prices go back up, investors will be putting their capital into blockchains such as Stellar Lumens and EOS that are faster and more efficient. It wouldn't surprise me to see ETH to hit as low as $100.

LTC (Litecoin) is another coin that has failed to live up to expectations. Touted as a "replacement for BTC" as an alternative currency, they had their chance but failed to be recognized by the market as such. "Experts" were calling for a 5:1 or 10:1 exchange ratio with BTC, but LTC has failed to produce and the likelihood of it doing so now is probably next to nil. The ICO craze of 2017 has failed to produce anything to compete with BTC, except perhaps EOS... but never on a 1:1 scale. In fact when all the dust settles, I expect to see many of the altcoins fall by the wayside and here's why...

There are currently nearly 2000 cryptocurrencies competing for a market that consists of less than 10% of the overall population. In other words the market isn't large enough yet to support 2000 cryptos without watering down the market share/value of each coin. As more and more people come into the market it may open up enough to support more coins... I believe that this may in part be what is fueling this correction in the altcoin market. The market is driven by demand and at present there simply isn't the demand to support 2000 cryptocurrencies.

BTC is the foundation of cryptos and likely will be for the foreseeable future... it's the standard by which all cryptos are judged. Generally speaking when BTC goes up, it carries the altcoins with it, and conversel, when it drops so too do the altcoins. However, this seems not to be the case this time. In the long run this could be a good thing... the separation we've all been waiting for. It's time for the altcoins to be judged on their own merits, not only in terms of investment potential as cryptos, but by what needs in the cyberworld fulfill. What we could be witnessing is an altcoin reset, a correction to determine the merit of each coin as it pertains to its necessity in the cyberworld. Each coin is competing for limited assets and the overvalued non-producers will fall away.

Or, this could potentially be a part of something much larger... with precious metals taking a beating as well, it could be an indication that something is happening to the economy at large. Whatever the cause this is likely temporary... this dip is providing a myriad of investment possibilities for the stout of heart. My one piece of advice is that before investing in any crypto, first make certain it fills a need in the cyberworld! Good luck and as for me... I'm HODLing!!!