The Altcoin Evolution – Part II: The Challenges – Accessibility
14 Agosto 2021 - 05:01AM
NEWSBTC
Last week we introduced ‘Altcoin Evolution’, NewsBTC’s latest
series discussing the market-wide challenges that altcoins face in
coming to market. We’ll take a look at a bird’s eye view of a
number of different challenges that altcoins face in the general
market, starting first with accessibility. Our
framework in outlining these challenges will generally be presented
from a U.S. consumers point of view, as some of the exchanges,
projects, etc. may not be accessible yet globally – which speaks to
the very nature of the topic at hand. We’ll also be looking at
these processes and challenges through the lens of a very casual to
intermediate crypto consumer – one who has a solid understanding of
the broader landscape, but not necessarily the deep depth of more
advanced crypto-native consumers. Nailing Down The Challenges:
Making A Purchase Undoubtedly the most difficult challenge for
emerging projects – those like ECOMI (which we mentioned in last
week’s ‘Altcoin Evolution’), or Dapper Labs FLOW token (from the
creators of NBA Top Shot), is accessibility. FLOW and OMI tokens
typically sit somewhere around the top 100 in market cap, making
them big enough to be on the radar but not a substantial threat to
become an immediate top 20 token. Let’s look at the
very basics of securing these type of assets. Acquiring the OMI
coin, for example, involves setting up an account on Bitforex,
Gate.io, or OKEx, all of which are generally lesser known crypto
exchanges relative to the mainstream players such as Crypto.com,
Binance, Coinbase, FTX, etc. Our team took the
step-by-step process of buying some OMI tokens to compare it to the
major exchanges that more casual consumers are frequenting. We
utilized Bitforex in this case, due to it’s reliable crypto
reputation and ability to offer a generally wider array of altcoins
than many exchanges, with over 150 tokens supported. We chose XLM
to transfer funds to the Bitforex account to take advantage of
lower transfer fees compared to many other major tokens (fees can
vary widely amongst different currencies, so it will be wise to do
some research as to how to minimize costs when looking at acquiring
your desired token). Certain cryptocurrencies, such as XLM,
may require more info than a typical wallet QR code as well. If a
TAG/MEMO is supplied, it must be used in order to prevent delays,
or even potential loss of transfer funds. You could consider the
TAG/MEMO line as an apartment number, whereas the QR code is acting
as the apartment building. One difference here
compared to the Coinbase trading process, for example, is that you
must first transfer your funds from your Bitforex wallet to a
spot/trading account on Bitforex, which allows for instantaneous
exchanges on the platform. The next step required that we exchange
XLM tokens to Tether, the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT. After that
conversion was complete, we were able to purchase the OMI coin.
As you can see, relative to many of the streamlined
purchasing processes that are headlining the mainstream markets,
there are a few more hoops to jump through. These extra steps often
not seen with simple BTC or ETH purchases on more popular exchanges
can impose underrated limitations on potential investors acquiring
tokens – be it OMI or otherwise. At its core, casual
consumers are less likely to put in the legwork of learning about
the process if they aren’t already familiar. Prominent
altcoin FLOW is leveraging premier partners to increase awareness,
but the token will need more exchange support to increase consumer
accessibility. | Source: FLOW-USD on TradingView.com Related
Reading | Bitcoin Stuck In The Clouds, But Brighter Days Could Be
Ahead The Next ‘Accessible’ Step: How Altcoin Projects Can Appease
Major Exchanges As crypto has gained it’s legitimacy over the
years, with that has come policy frameworks for major exchanges in
how they go about supporting new tokens. Let’s look at
major crypto exchange Coinbase. The company has historically
implemented a core set of standards for crypto asset issuers –
centered around conformity to Coinbase core values, technology,
compliance, market supply, market demand, and crypto-economics. In
January, however, the company introduced the Coinbase Asset Hub.
Just a short time later, in early May, Coinbase posted a
guide to listing assets on the exchange on their blog page. Major
sticking points that were called out in the blog included source
code adherence to industry standards, the degree of centralization
(which can dictate the amount of collusion that is possible within
the project), and carrying a real and supportable use case (more on
this on our next section of ‘Altcoin Evolution’).
Despite this, Coinbase is still looking to streamline the asset
listing process even further, too. In a blog post in June, Coinbase
CEO Brian Armstrong cited one of three main opportunities for the
firm as bringing “more assets to Coinbase, faster.” That message
came as the firm announced plans to launch to a DeFi ‘crypto app
store’. Despite these uphill battles around accessibility,
the future generally seems to be bright for emerging projects that
are looking to increase their exposure. As the broader crypto space
grows and matures, exchanges look to streamline their processes –
legitimate projects will likely be given the platforms needed to
rise to the top. On next week’s ‘Altcoin Evolution,’
we will review one of those major sticking points that Coinbase
calls out in their listing asset guide – use case and value. We’ll
look at the importance of these traits and how projects can
showcase them. See you next week! Related Reading |
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Scaling Solutions Charts from TradingView.com, Image courtesy Jerry
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