Can Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero Have a Healthy Relationship?

Can Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero Have a Healthy Relationship?

Since Bitcoin’s entrance into the world of money and technology, many similar innovative creations have come and gone. Some, however, have stuck around, and an entirely new digital ecosystem has been created in less than a decade.

A large factor in the popularity of cryptocurrency is the fact that they are almost anonymous and have near instant transactions.

Bitcoin and Litecoin have been proven to have similar market patterns, are based on the same code, and both operate on a supply and demand basis.

Both show similar patterns in the market, as these CoinMarketCap charts show.

Their only difference is that there can only be 21 million bitcoins and only 84 million litecoins. The creator of the open source software behind Litecoin, Charlie Lee (who also works at Coinbase), has stated that developers will use Litecoin as a test bed for potential updates FOR Bitcoin’s benefit, such as Segregated Witness and other scaling solutions.

To me, this shows that the two digital currencies cannot be looked at as rivals, but more like allies, or even siblings.

But since the middle of 2016, a very popular alternative has jumped into the limelight, and its recent boost in popularity has seen it potentially take the number 3 spot!

Critics say it could even knock number 2 (Ethereum) off its spot…

Allow me to introduce the dark and mysterious Monero (XMR).

What is Monero and What Does it Do?

Monero, known by traders as XMR, is an alternative cryptocurrency that is primarily used on the darknet – mainly Alpha Bay.

It was launched in April 2014, but not until August 2016 did Monero truly start showing its long-term potential. Alpha Bay, a darknet market, started using Monero more as a regular form of payment to buy and sell, causing Monero to literally spike overnight!

Alpha Bay is where you can buy anything from. It’s off the grid, and not exactly approved by the government… similar to Silk Road in the early days of Bitcoin.

Monero is anonymous, making it desirable in the online underworld. To enable privacy, it uses a Ring Signature system, allowing users to make untraceable transactions anywhere and at any time.

Privacy-based coins have become increasingly popular. People no longer want a tyrannical central authority overseeing their every move, and people may want to buy certain items without fear of being caught… Privacy-based coins are extremely popular, and the community behind them is growing rapidly.

Can it stay with the top ten cryptocurrencies?

If it was down to a yes or no question, I’d say YES! Absolutley. Monero has the developers, the community, the niche, and the more risky but popular market.

The community behind Monero is great. They don’t try to directly compete with Bitcoin’s dominance, but instead prefer to respect and admit that Bitcoin is needed for Monero’s survival. The community of Bitcoin is very much the community of Monero, after all… Who doesn’t want private, borderless money?

For traders, Monero always does well when Bitcoin does, which is a testament to Monero and Bitcoin having a long-term future coexisting, similar to Litecoin. In fact, the CoinMarketCap chart above shows very similar market behaviour between Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero.

Monero’s Strengths Could Be its Biggest Weaknesses.

Monero has the majority of its trade volume on Alpha Bay. That’s great for Monero holders, but if we look back at the history books at Silk Road (another darknet market), Bitcoin was the major way to pay for goods. After a while, the authorities got wind of this underworld market and shut the Silk Road down, causing the price of Bitcoin to plummet.

It’s Worth Thinking About

Could this story repeat for Monero in the near future? We will have to stay tuned and wait and see, but other than the darknet usage, Monero could easily be number three – or even number two!

Which brings me to the next topic.

Can Monero Compete With Digital Gold and Silver (Bitcoin and Litecoin)?

Monero has solved the problem of privacy, so it has the capacity to overtake Litecoin, and even the number two powerhouse (Ethereum). The next big hurdle will be that people want to know if the scaling solutions for mainstream adoption that Bitcoin and Litecoin are embracing can be used with Monero.

Litecoin and Monero are equally not mainstream, and I personally feel Litecoin has a better chance of a commercialized function, as it is not focused on darknet markets and financial institutions.

Overall acceptance is more likely to be given to something that isn’t so “privacy-based” at this moment in time, and until such a thing happens, the coins will never hold as much dominance as Bitcoin or be able to touch it in terms of market capital.

Bitcoin is still the most influential out of all the cryptocurrencies. It has proven itself likely to become a global, savvy alternative to gold. If Monero is to stand the test of time, it must be able to have a reason to exist outside of Alpha Bay and explore other markets.

Monero is a great coin, and if I am being totally honest, along with Bitcoin and Litecoin, it is probably the only legitimate cryptocurrency.

All three have great potential, and to the question “Can Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero have a healthy relationship?” the answer is again YES. Bitcoin can work as a store of value, eventually becoming a widely-used, global digital currency, Litecoin would be the silver of Bitcoin. With Litecoin’s much faster transaction speed and greater supply, combined with Monero’s privacy-based currency, we could see an amazing digital ecosystem flourish.

As all three of these innovative currencies have a long-term function, and are the most legitimate, in my opinion, combined with the popularity they wield, we could see the cryptocurrency world be dominated by them in the long-term.

This is depending on whether or not the slight problems of scaling for larger global adoption can be overcome and Monero getting a broader usage than just “buying drugs from Alpha Bay!”

The future looks very interesting!