Cryptocurrency markets have been soaring lately, and despite the most recent correction, it seems that there is more room for growth. Total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined, doubled over the past 5 weeks. The last time that cryptocurrency market cap grew at this rate, was just before the Mt Gox debacle. Back then, the market was not nearly as diversified. Bitcoin dominance was close to 90%. Now, bitcoin dominance is closer to 60%, which could well signal the dawning of the cryptocurrency golden age.

Bitcoin: The Gateway to the Cryptocurrency Golden Age

This cryptocurrency golden age has many characteristics that point towards a more transformative shift. One of the usual characteristics of these sudden rises in cryptocurrency market cap is trading, but this time around there might be more to the funds flowing into the markets than just simple trading. More institutional investors are joining. Many of them going into Ethereum-powered projects or private banking projects like Ripple.

This chart clearly shows how the dominance of bitcoin went down sharply over the last few weeks. Is this an indication that the cryptocurrency golden age is here? Source: coinmarketcap.com.

Attitudes towards cryptocurrencies and ICOs might have also changed once more people understood how useful they can be. Some investors are using bitcoin as a gateway coin to participate in the cryptocurrency golden age. After all this is the most convertible of all cryptocurrencies, the most widely known and the most widely accepted, but the funds are increasingly moving away from bitcoin into other cryptocurrencies.

Understanding Bitcoin is a Great First Step

Nevertheless, bitcoin is not only a point of entry into the market and a tool to participate in ICOs; it is also crucial on other levels. Many other cryptocurrencies are modeled after bitcoin, making them compatible with the solutions that Bitcoin Core developers come up with for the challenges that they face. The clearest example is the activation of SegWit on Litecoin.

Cryptocurrency Golden Age: this is the market cap story. This chart shows how ryptocurrency market cap excluding bitcoin is growing over the past few weeks. Source: coinmarketcap.com.

Therefore, understanding bitcoin, itself, is the first step that any investor must take to get a grasp on how to profit from the cryptocurrency golden age. The fact that bitcoin dominance in cryptocurrency markets is trending down, also shows that more investors are increasingly moving further along the line after this first crucial step. There is no doubt that increased exposure to bitcoin and understanding of blockchain technology, is fueling the cryptocurrency golden age at every level.

Will the Cryptocurrency Golden Age Last?

Cryptocurrency markets have seen investor excitement before, but never at this level, let alone at this pace. Therefore, many are asking themselves if this time it will last. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts would answer with a resounding “yes”, but disciplined investors should take on a different attitude. The cryptocurrency golden age still faces many challenges. Some technical, some legal and even some on the service side. However, there is a feeling that this time around, with smarter money moving in and all the lessons that enthusiasts learned from past mistakes, the cryptocurrency golden age is here to stay.