Bitcoin has spawned a pack of imitators. Over thirty-six cryptocurrencies have the word “bitcoin” in their name. About twelve have a market capitalisation of over a million dollars while three of them claim to be “the real bitcoin”. However, there is only one bitcoin – the one that accounts for over 50 percent of the entire cryptoasset market capitalisation.

In this article, you will discover why bitcoin (BTC) is likely still the best cryptocurrency to invest in despite the wave of competitors attempting to challenge its market dominance.

Bitcoin Has Gone Mainstream And Its Adoption is Growing

We know a new payment system does not emerge overnight but it is worth noting that bitcoin has evolved the concept of money even if it still divides public opinion. As the first implementation of the blockchain, “somehow bitcoin has lived in a swamp and survived,” said Jeff Sprecher, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. Many now speculate and trade it like any other asset class while others are using it as an online spending currency.

Bitpay, a bitcoin payment processor, experienced a record year in 2018 processing over 1 billion dollars in bitcoin payments. While it is difficult to quantify the actual number of individuals that use bitcoin or merchants that accept it as a payment method, large international merchants are showing increasing interest each year. BitPay reportedly has over 3,000 businesses accepting bitcoin as a payment method in 2018.

In 2018, Microsoft welcomed bitcoin back as a payment option on its Windows and Xbox online stores. Overstock.com, a large American internet retailer, also announced it would pay a portion of its Ohio state business taxes in bitcoin.

Across Africa, from spa, electronics and restaurant shops in Kenya to online stores in Nigeria and South Africa, local merchants are giving their customers an option to make payments with bitcoin.

Bitcoin Remains the Go-To Asset For New Crypto Investors

Bitcoin is estimated to have grown to around 20 million users globally in 2018. Most investors’ first foray into the crypto market is through bitcoin. The primary reason for this is accessibility and brand recognition.

The ease with which bitcoin can be purchased using bitcoin trading apps or online bitcoin exchanges makes investing in bitcoin as easy – or perhaps even easier – than buying stocks. The rapid increase in the number of trusted bitcoin exchanges has provided an opportunity for more people than ever to enter the crypto market.

Anyone who wants to start investing in cryptoassets starts out with bitcoin. This has helped its price in the bitcoin bull market of 2017 and will likely continue to help its price in the years to come.

Bitcoin Attracts the Most institutional Investors

We have started seeing the arrival of bitcoin-based securities. It began with Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) in 2013 and was followed by the Stockholm Stock Exchange-listed Bitcoin Tracker One ETNs issued by XBT Provider AB. Today, there is a range of financial institutions that offer bitcoin-based financial products.

Digital asset management fund Grayscale Investments stated in a report that institutional capital accounted for 56 percent of all new investments into Grayscale products during the first half of 2018. The institutional investment firm reportedly has a record bitcoin equivalent holdings of over 203,000 BTC.

Moreover, bitcoin futures contracts were launched in 2017 by CME Group and the CBOE also created an alternative for institutional investors looking to invest in the new asset class without actually owning it. The world’s second-largest stock exchange, Nasdaq, also has plans to launch Bitcoin futures in the first half of 2019.

In the next phase, we may see bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that could attract even more institutional investors to bitcoin. Some experts even believe that the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs could trigger another bitcoin bull run.

Bitcoin is the Most Secure And Decentralised Blockchain in the Market

Even after being proclaimed dead hundreds of times over the past few years, bitcoin has proven to be extremely reliable.

It is the most secure and stable cryptocurrency in the market today. In spite of the criticisms and vulnerabilities of Proof-of-Work (PoW) – the consensus mechanism of Bitcoin blockchain – it still remains the most tried and trusted system in the industry.

No miner or mining pools (i.e. aggregated miners) own 51 percent of the hash rate of the Bitcoin network. Although it is true that some companies have a considerable influence, bitcoin still has one of the highest numbers of entities that control the mining power, which means it is less likely that one entity can perform a 51 percent attack that could cripple the network.

We have already seen hackers successfully attack the blockchains of Verge, Horizen, and Ethereum Classic to steal a large number of their coins in the past years but Bitcoin has remained unscathed as its blockchain is the most secure.

Bitcoin Developers Are Still Innovating

Despite the huge market valuation, bitcoin is not a finished product. Bitcoin’s competitors often tote features that the platform lacks, such as privacy, faster confirmation, and smart contracts. However, in recent months we have seen new developments to improve the privacy, security, and scalability of the Bitcoin network.

One of the major successful upgrades is the Lightning Network. It adds an extra layer to the Bitcoin blockchain to allow users to create payment channels between any two parties and transact directly with one another off-chain. It is touted as the development that will make bitcoin usable for everyday transactions and reduces transaction fees. The Lightning Network processed its first payment in January 2018 but now has a network capacity of over 500 BTC.

Other significant upgrades that could increase the valuation of the asset include: Liquid Network, a side chain with its currency, L-BTC, pegged to BTC, to increase the number of transactions processed on the network and Confidential Transactions (CT), a tool to enhance the privacy of users’ identity on the platform. Also, there are plans to implement the ability to develop smart contracts on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Thanks to its large, dedicated developer community, the Bitcoin network, therefore, still possess the capabilities to surpass newer blockchain projects in terms of scalability, privacy, speed, and features.

If you want to buy bitcoin, check out our guide to the best cryptocurrency exchanges or our review of the best bitcoin trading apps, if you prefer to trade on-the-go.

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. Cryptocurrencies carry a high level of risk, hence it is imperative to always conduct your own research before making financial investments.