With the price of one bitcoin floating around the $1,200 mark many perspective investors are turning their attention to other cryptocurrencies in a bid to make money.

One digital currency that investors are putting their money in is Dash. According to Coin Market Cap, Dash is now the third fastest growing digital currency after Bitcoin and Ethereum. The price of Dash has risen to $43.89 from around $8 in two months. With the price of Bitcoin at $1,188, it’s not hard to see why so many people are ploughing their funds into alternative digital currencies.

Of the hundreds of digital currencies out there, Dash is not the only one to see an increase in investments.

Ranked sixth and twelfth in the table are Monero and Zcash with each one costing $13.32 and $36.68 each. And for those who feel as though they’ve missed the boat with bitcoin, they are finding alternative ways to earn a profit on their investments.

In a report from Bloomberg, it looks at how different cryptocurrencies could potentially become more mainstream as more people begin to accept them as a form of trade. However, how much people are willing to trust the currency also plays a role, which in turn affects the price of it.

Bitcoin Investments Still Possible?

And yet, with the first bitcoin-based exchange traded fund due to be either rejected or approved by U.S. regulators on March 11, the price of bitcoin could go either way.

If it’s rejected the price of the currency could ensue volatility, making way for investors who are hedging their bets and opening the door for them to buy cheap and sell when the price of the currency increases.

Not only that, but as Bloomberg states, bitcoin is facing issues with its network speed with transactions often taking as long as an hour to clear. With developers failing to come to an agreement as to how to solve the issue, investors are turning to other coins instead.

Disadvantages with Smaller Markets?

Unlike Bitcoin, though, which has a market cap of $19.3 billion, alt coins such as Dash, Monero and Zcash have smaller markets. This means that they are likely to be more volatile.

Of course, if regulators approve the bitcoin-based exchange traded fund, the price of the digital currency could increase further, thus making it even harder for those who want to invest in the currency. Instead, they are more likely to turn elsewhere.

Featured image from Shutterstock.