Ryan Van Wagenen of Global Private Equity has been covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrency over the past couple years as GPE entered the space with investments in products connected to the blockchain. When bitcoin was introduced to the globe in 2009, it drastically changed the landscape of digital money. Because of the innovation and development in the industry, it has paved the way to the start of Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and other hundreds of cryptocurrencies have reached a market valuation of approximately $110 billion.
So now, let’s take a close look at how the emerging digital assets landscape started. Are you ready? Keep reading to find out.
Pre-Bitcoin Era
Since the early days of the internet, the idea of digital money has intrigued lots of people. The time when the World Wide Web (WWW) became popularized from the late eighties to nineties, cypherpunks (online privacy activist) began creating or envisioning digital currencies.
Many well-known cryptographers like David Chaum helped pave the way for bitcoin. Along with the first digital currencies created by Chaum was Digicash. After a short time of serving the industry, it was later sold and utilized for settlements in different banks.
During those years, there were also other attempts to create excellent internet currency like Bitgold, e-gold, and Hashcash. But all these ideas never caught on till Satoshi Nakamoto revealed his Bitcoin to the world in 2008.
In January 2009, the bitcoin network successfully came out in the market while the central banking systems were easing the globe away from potential economic failure.
Bitcoin Produced Hundreds of Cryptocurrencies Providing Different Features
Bitcoin’s success as the first cryptographic currency with an effective blockchain proved its predecessors wrong. Despite the criticisms from some individuals, it showed it had a better and bigger chance to help and succeed.
After its birth in 2009, other cryptocurrencies appeared in the industry like what the experts have expected. Along with the earliest blockchain-based digital assets are Namecoin, Litecoin, Peercoin, and Feathercoin. A few of them provided different algorithms, a range amounts of tokens, and a new feature as well.
For example, Tenebrix (the first scrypt coin) led to the countless number of other coins. During the time, they were supposed to be ‘ASIC proof; however, they became untrue. The idea of Tenebrix also served as a pedestal to the development of Litecoin. In fact, the latter is based on the former. More particularly, Litecoin followed the scrypt based algorithm of Tenebrix.
Since Litecoin’s inception, it has remained one of the most leading contending cryptocurrencies. Also, valuation-wise has been associated with its name.
After Litecoin, Ryan Van Wagenen points out that Peercoin and other cryptocurrencies made their beginning. Peercoin was the first one that developed the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus. But it also employed the Proof of Work (POW) for other salient parts of the system.
For the scientific computing POW system, Primecoin was the pioneer. For the Cryptonote protocol, it was Bytecoin, which was followed by a wide array of methods in the cryptographic value exchange. The X11 algorithm, Quark algorithm, Proof of Importance (Pol), zerocash protocol, and other cryptocurrencies infused these techniques into their system.
These days, there are more than 870 digital tokens that the public can avail. Most of them can be found or even accessed on an assortment of cryptocurrency exchanges. When the time comes that you need one of them, the global cryptocurrency exchanges are the place to go.
Ethereum’s Domination and the Altcoin Landscape Shift
Over the past few years, the highest valued digital assets were unable to perform its job. But now it is far different. Cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Stratis, Monero, and Dash have been profitable since the day of their launch.
Ryan Van Wagenen expands that without a doubt most of the market cap valuations for all these digital assets are worth hundreds of millions to even billions these days. Aside from that, Litecoin, Namecoin, Feathercoin, Peercoin and other older cryptocurrencies remain treasured assets. Nevertheless, the topnotch twenty coins in this 21st century are much better than they were during 2013.
Nowadays, cryptocurrency markets increase their worth more than the cryptocurrency craze in the past. Specifically, the Ethereum economy has more than half of the market share of the mother of all cryptocurrencies surprisingly.
Who would have ever thought that Ethereum would exceed Bitcoin’s success? Maybe none of the people from different sectors would believe it. But now it performs in a way that continuously surprises many of us.
The digital asset is worth more than $300 in each ether. Experts also believe that its value would climb to over $510, overtaking the market capitalization of Bitcoin. Moreover, a range of newer tokens and coins created with Ethereum have gained extreme value this 2018 as well.
What Will Happen in the Coming Years?
No one knows what will happen to this emerging environment of cryptocurrencies. Most professionals believe its success will continue within a long span of time. Others think that bitcoin, as well as altcoins, will be the new money shortly. Some also believe that only a few of the digital assets will remain in this complicated industry, and one of those is bitcoin.
Based on ICO fever as well as speculation on these trading platforms, people believe that an array of altcoin valuations will not be available in the future. They are aware that it is only a matter of time when a crisis could take place. All individuals should do is to come up with their cryptocurrency forecasts. Plus, exert effort to tether that with the information at the moment.
As of now, predicting the outcome of how cryptocurrencies will change the industry is not possible. But, all of us are familiar that exchange value is shifting different directions. And the mother of digital money pushed that envelope for the past few years.
The environment it has produced resulted in salient technical advancements. For that reason, all of us witness the biggest and the most impressive transfer of wealth in the history. It is an awesome feat for a blockchain technology that does not have ten years of availability in the business. Hopefully, it will continue to be better as more years go by.
Ryan Van Wagenen has been with Global Private Equity since 2009. After being promoted to Director within the firm in 2011, he began focusing within the technology sector. The freedom within the firm to find investments within the sector, led Van Wagenen to focus on the blockchain. After a few years, this led the firm to have interest in Bitcoin and later Ethereum and other more obscure cryptocurrency. Outside of business, Van Wagenen is an avid skier and enjoys the outdoor scene in Cottonwood Canyon near his home.
