Bitcoin vs Altcoins?

[darkangel11]

For me it's very simple.
Altcoins follow bitcoin but bitcoin doesn't follow altcoins, which means that if you put money in bitcoin and it goes down in price your potential altcoin investment would lose you money too, but your altcoin investment can go down on its own as well, even when bitcoin is pumping. Altcoins are just additional risk in an already risky environment.

You want to be safe, you buy gold.
You want some risk in your life, you buy Apple stock or Coca Cola like Warren.
You want some more risk, you buy tech stocks.
More risk? Get Bitcoin.
Even more? Get ETH or BNB.
Want to go crazy? Buy some shitcoins, but don't come crying later. I personally know people who were buying game credists in 2018 for 3-4 USD. Check the price now. I also know a guy who bought HEX for 0.2 USD, it went to 0.5 and I told him to dump it because it's a shitcoin but he was swearing to me that it's going to 1 USD Now it's closer to 0.01 USD than it is to 1.

When you think you lost a lot of money because Bitcoin went down 50%, think of those people who thought altcoins were better. Some of these guys are between -90 and -100%

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[Sarah Azhari]

For me it's very simple.
Altcoins follow bitcoin but bitcoin doesn't follow altcoins, which means that if you put money in bitcoin and it goes down in price your potential altcoin investment would lose you money too, but your altcoin investment can go down on its own as well, even when bitcoin is pumping. Altcoins are just additional risk in an already risky environment.

I just tell my friend about it, if you want to follow, follow bitcoin also not only altcoin because the price is paired with bitcoin. but if he wants the risk, that system always follows what they invest, the more you bought the more you got risk and profit. And bitcoin has become like gold now.

[Zanab247]

Since Bitcoin still remain the king among other cryptocurrencies, it will be favourable to invest a huge amount of capital on Bitcoin in this bear season, and invest little on altcoins, because whenever Bitcoin price is rising in the market, altcoins price will be rising too, and whenever the price of Bitcoin is dumping in the market, altcoins price will be dumping, show that Bitcoin teams are more stronger than altcoins teams in the community. I guess, you will not regret making Bitcoin your first choice, because the price of Bitcoin will surely pump higher than others cryptocurrencies for their investors to earn well.

[traderethereum]

Since Bitcoin still remain the king among other cryptocurrencies, it will be favourable to invest a huge amount of capital on Bitcoin in this bear season, and invest little on altcoins, because whenever Bitcoin price is rising in the market, altcoins price will be rising too, and whenever the price of Bitcoin is dumping in the market, altcoins price will be dumping, show that Bitcoin teams are more stronger than altcoins teams in the community. I guess, you will not regret making Bitcoin your first choice, because the price of Bitcoin will surely pump higher than others cryptocurrencies for their investors to earn well.

So bitcoin is still the best investment in crypto and the choice of many people to try to get big profits.
But altcoins can also be an investment option but not for the long term because altcoins will be more volatile in price than bitcoin.
In addition, altcoins also follow bitcoin as the leader, which makes many altcoins fall sharply if bitcoin experiences a decline like now.
But it's okay if some people make altcoins their main investment because they think with so many altcoins on the market, they can get bigger profits than investing in bitcoin.

[Daltonik]

<...>
I know I have got into Bitcoin at a good price but just feel while altcoins are currently 85-95% down from all time high may be better making the most of that rather then being safe with Bitcoin and not seeing much return.

With altcoins, you can both earn quickly and lose your funds quickly, if you keep funds in bitcoin and expect for a long period, then it makes no sense to sell it in the hope of getting an early benefit from buying altcoins. To do this, you do not need to sell your bitcoin, just instead of your regular purchase of bitcoin, try to use your free funds to invest in some promising project and just wait for the exit point, and later check what came of it.

[pooya87]

You want to be safe, you buy gold.
You want some risk in your life, you buy Apple stock or Coca Cola like Warren.
You want some more risk, you buy tech stocks.
More risk? Get Bitcoin.
Even more? Get ETH or BNB.
Want to go crazy? Buy some shitcoins,

ETH and BNB are both considered shitcoins so you should have included them in the last category not a separate one above that. In fact both of these coins are more centralized than all the other altcoins, for example BNB is 100% controlled by Binance and can be shut down, frozen, reversed, ... if Binance owners decided to or a government ordered them to.

[darkangel11]

ETH and BNB are both considered shitcoins so you should have included them in the last category not a separate one above that. In fact both of these coins are more centralized than all the other altcoins, for example BNB is 100% controlled by Binance and can be shut down, frozen, reversed, ... if Binance owners decided to or a government ordered them to.

That part about centralization is true, but at lest when compared to stuff like doge or shiba, you're buying a coin backed by something. In case of ETH those are smart contracts built by it, so other coins depend on its health. In case of BNB you're pretty much buying Binance stock. I think both these options are better than actual shitcoins like bitcoin sv so I wouldn't put them in the same basket.

Which altcoins aren't shitcoins in your opinion?

[EarnOnVictor]

Altcoins are not something you should stick and be loyal to. We have to be reminded that they come and go. They're usually short-lived. So they should only be treated as milking cows. When playing with altcoins, good entry and exit points should be well-plotted in advance. By the time a good profit is achieved, altcoins should be dumped as quickly as they're acquired. They shouldn't stay in wallets for long. After all, they're only there so that your Bitcoin value increases. Bitcoin is still the ultimate goal.

I disagree with you about this, like I always tell people, we should not be so extreme about BTC, we should be very careful about that as we have alternatives that have come to stay. Like the traditional markets, there are many assets to choose from, and so is the situation between Bitcoin and altcoins, it depends on what the investors and traders want.

We should also differentiate between altcoins, there are more performing ones, and once you know how to deal with them, they could perform better than Bitcoin in HODL and other trading investments.

[agustina2]

Just wondering if everyone invests in Bitcoin or is it worth just focusing on strong altcoins that can 20-50x in the next few years?

Strong altcoins that can 20-50x in the next few years? Can we really determine what altcoins are these?

Not wrong to invest in those altcoins but don't expect a 20-50x increase at those as it might give you disappointments. You can have a test to see the result although you need several years to see it.

Much better to focus mostly your funds on Bitcoin and do some DCA.

[adzino]

I first got into crypto in February this year however did not start investing in Bitcoin until June after the crash as I felt it was too expensive until then.

I have been DCA now since June and my average buy is £17,100 and I have 6% of a Bitcoin which I know is not much but I have been taking it slow and feel it is slowly growing whilst buying at these lower prices.

I watched a clip on Youtube earlier saying how Bitcoin is great however it is limited in terms of profit potential and it got me thinking if I should keep DCA into Bitcoin or sell it all and put into Altcoins that are likely to return much more over the next 2-3 years.

I mean how high can Bitcoin realistically go in the next 2-3 years? £150k maybe which would be less then 10x compared to other altcoins that can 20-50x when the bull run returns.

Just wondering if everyone invests in Bitcoin or is it worth just focusing on strong altcoins that can 20-50x in the next few years?

I know I have got into Bitcoin at a good price but just feel while altcoins are currently 85-95% down from all time high may be better making the most of that rather then being safe with Bitcoin and not seeing much return.

Not all altcoins are going to give you a 20-50x return. You need to find a good altcoin that has potential and they are very rare to find. You will most likely end up investing in a "bad" altcoin and lose everything.

Investing in Bitcoin is less riskier when compared to altcoins. Sure, bitcoin might not give you more returns than some altcoins, but look at the charts. When the market tanks, the altcoin performs the worst. Go back few days and see what happened. When bitcoin went down by 5%, altcoin went down up to 15%!

[pawanjain]

I first got into crypto in February this year however did not start investing in Bitcoin until June after the crash as I felt it was too expensive until then.

I have been DCA now since June and my average buy is £17,100 and I have 6% of a Bitcoin which I know is not much but I have been taking it slow and feel it is slowly growing whilst buying at these lower prices.

I watched a clip on Youtube earlier saying how Bitcoin is great however it is limited in terms of profit potential and it got me thinking if I should keep DCA into Bitcoin or sell it all and put into Altcoins that are likely to return much more over the next 2-3 years.

I mean how high can Bitcoin realistically go in the next 2-3 years? £150k maybe which would be less then 10x compared to other altcoins that can 20-50x when the bull run returns.

Just wondering if everyone invests in Bitcoin or is it worth just focusing on strong altcoins that can 20-50x in the next few years?

I know I have got into Bitcoin at a good price but just feel while altcoins are currently 85-95% down from all time high may be better making the most of that rather then being safe with Bitcoin and not seeing much return.

I know it might be really confusing as to what to do in order to grow our portfolio to the max.
But if I were in your place I would do both. As in diversify my investment into bitcoin as well as the altcoins.
The problem with altcoin is that not all of them are worth our precious money. Many of them just dont return enough profits.
So we have to be wise when choosing which altcoin to invest in. Once done, you can diversify your investment into both.
The percentage really depends on you and I have personally done 40% BTC and 60% altcoins.

[qwertyup23]

It all depends on what you need but I highly recommend to diversify your investments for maximum profit.

Personally, BTC is the way to go due to its inflationary nature. While there may be lots of altcoins in the market, the fact still remains that BTC is the reigning cryptocurrency in the market with its price higher than every altcoin present. With this in mind, the potential and opportunity of doubling your money is quite higher compared to some altcoins.

While this may be the case, diversifying and investing in both BTC and altcoins is the preferred method in order to maximize your profits and minimize your losses.

[Rikafip]

It all depends on what you need but I highly recommend to diversify your investments for maximum profit

That in majority of cases means maximum risk and loss and not the maximum profit. Keep in mind that OP is still relatively new to crypto (started investing ~7 months ago) so I doubt that he has enough experience to sell altcoins in time.

While this may be the case, diversifying and investing in both BTC and altcoins is the preferred method in order to maximize your profits and minimize your losses.

Imho that's not a real diversification because all those alts still depend on bitcoin price so you might as well keep it in bitcoin and minimize the risk. On the other hand, real diversification is if you invest in something that's not closely related to crypto, like gold or even better land. 

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

I first got into crypto in February this year however did not start investing in Bitcoin until June after the crash as I felt it was too expensive until then.

This is also felt by many people, the constraint of investing in bitcoin because it involves an expensive price.
But don't worry, I have a way to speed up your desire to buy bitcoin, all you have to do is monitor market conditions, buy in small quantities that you think are sufficient, when bitcoin is at a standard price, then sell in the near future when bitcoin experience improvement and do it over and over again until you have enough capital, but the concept must be consistent.

I have been DCA now since June and my average buy is £17,100 and I have 6% of a Bitcoin which I know is not much but I have been taking it slow and feel it is slowly growing whilst buying at these lower prices.

This is correct and do it consistently until your target is achieved, I have been doing this for the past year.
growth delay is better, but has a degree of stability, so that your investment space can work, people who have little capital must have a way to get around it.

I watched a clip on Youtube earlier saying how Bitcoin is great however it is limited in terms of profit potential and it got me thinking if I should keep DCA into Bitcoin or sell it all and put into Altcoins that are likely to return much more over the next 2-3 year.

Limited profits are caused by a small authorized capital when you start investing, and Altcoins are more volatile you need to know, start learning consistency, preferably small but can increase slowly.
All decisions are yours?

I mean how high can Bitcoin realistically go in the next 2-3 years? £150k maybe which would be less then 10x compared to other altcoins that can 20-50x when the bull run returns.

Depending on the market reaction and the yearly cycle that will occur, the math can shift in the investment formula.
The concept of investing is not as easy as people say and it's the same with Altcoins you mean if a bull run occurs.

Just wondering if everyone invests in Bitcoin or is it worth just focusing on strong altcoins that can 20-50x in the next few years?

This question is still relative, if many already know how bitcoin works and can provide benefits, then the answer must be choosing bitcoin.
And also there is nothing wrong if people prefer Altcoins, it's just a matter of taste and financial ability to take a role in Bitcoin and Altcoins.
But if you ask me, the definitive answer is bitcoin.

I know I have got into Bitcoin at a good price but just feel while altcoins are currently 85-95% down from all time high may be better making the most of that rather then being safe with Bitcoin and not seeing much return.

Try both at the same time, but make sure the altcoin you are aiming for has the strength to stay in the market.
As a reference for decision making, you will not be able to avoid bitcoin for now and in the future, because bitcoin is more promising than altcoins, although both have a degree of risk involved.
Just look at the growth of bitcoin to date, Many people, companies and groups have made bitcoin a promising asset and investment.
Then where were you when the three people I mentioned earlier had successfully invested in Bitcoin. Personally I've increased my investment in bitcoin, although slowly and adjusting the capital I have.

[lixer]

Problems with altcoins are: You can get high ROIs with them, higher than with Bitcoin in a few weeks, a few months; but when the trend is broken, you will lose more with altcoins. Another problem with altcoin investors is: they believe too much in altcoins and they hesitate to cut loss, to exit early. Therefore, when they get loss with altcoins, it should be -50%, -90% or even higher.

Altcoins are not something you should stick and be loyal to. We have to be reminded that they come and go. They're usually short-lived. So they should only be treated as milking cows. When playing with altcoins, good entry and exit points should be well-plotted in advance. By the time a good profit is achieved, altcoins should be dumped as quickly as they're acquired. They shouldn't stay in wallets for long. After all, they're only there so that your Bitcoin value increases. Bitcoin is still the ultimate goal.

Depends on what is that altcoin you are talking about. If that alt is shady then yes, they are not worthy for long term investing but if that alts are the common alts that we know i.e eth and bnb then these coins are fine to hodl for a long time. A good entry point is usually done when the coins value is dumping or when the market is in bear phase and for the exit point, it's when their price are pumping or when the market is in bull phase.

Alts aren't created to help btc increase its value but btc is actually the one that helps alts to increase their value. Now you know the drill. We shouldn't invest more in alts but we should put more money in btc so that alts can benefit as well.

[Darker45]

~snip~

I disagree with you about this, like I always tell people, we should not be so extreme about BTC, we should be very careful about that as we have alternatives that have come to stay. Like the traditional markets, there are many assets to choose from, and so is the situation between Bitcoin and altcoins, it depends on what the investors and traders want.

We should also differentiate between altcoins, there are more performing ones, and once you know how to deal with them, they could perform better than Bitcoin in HODL and other trading investments.

You can disagree with me all you want but the hard data is saying that altcoins come and go while Bitcoin stays. Except for a handful of altcoins, majority of them are already either dead or dying. In terms of HODLing, you cannot compare Bitcoin with any altcoin. Yes, DOGE rallied, XRP pumped, SHIB became popular all of a sudden, but would you HODL them the way you HODL Bitcoin? That, to me, is suicide. And even if the likes of Ethereum remains strong, just take a look at how much an ETH was worth in BTC years ago and compare it today. That would tell you that HODLing Bitcoin was still better.

~snip~

~snip~

Depends on what is that altcoin you are talking about. If that alt is shady then yes, they are not worthy for long term investing but if that alts are the common alts that we know i.e eth and bnb then these coins are fine to hodl for a long time. A good entry point is usually done when the coins value is dumping or when the market is in bear phase and for the exit point, it's when their price are pumping or when the market is in bull phase.

They're fine to trade and keep for a short time. HODL for a long time? I doubt. ETH? 5 years ago, 1 ETH was around 0.14BTC. Today, with all the hype of the Merge and talks of flippening, it is only worth 0.06BTC. Don't mind their prices in dollars. It only misleads you. BNB? I wouldn't trust my money on a centralized coin whose network got hacked and was shut down shortly after.

Alts aren't created to help btc increase its value but btc is actually the one that helps alts to increase their value. Now you know the drill. We shouldn't invest more in alts but we should put more money in btc so that alts can benefit as well.

Every single altcoin is riding on Bitcoin's popularity. To a certain extent, they're free riders. So you don't keep them. You use them. You take advantage of them. And that's so that your value in Bitcoin increases. Now you know the drill. You don't pledge loyalty to a shitcoin. All roads lead to Bitcoin.

[Iranus]

Since Bitcoin still remain the king among other cryptocurrencies, it will be favourable to invest a huge amount of capital on Bitcoin in this bear season, and invest little on altcoins, because whenever Bitcoin price is rising in the market, altcoins price will be rising too, and whenever the price of Bitcoin is dumping in the market, altcoins price will be dumping, show that Bitcoin teams are more stronger than altcoins teams in the community. I guess, you will not regret making Bitcoin your first choice, because the price of Bitcoin will surely pump higher than others cryptocurrencies for their investors to earn well.

There is no doubt that investing in bitcoin is for the better in this bear market. But I don't think we should underestimate the potential that exists in altcoins. Maybe not as good as what bitcoin gives, but altcoins are also worth taking a look at (as long as it's not on a new project). We don't compare bitcoin and altcoins because I think we all agree that bitcoin is our main goal. We have to be smart to see the opportunities that exist in altcoins too, it can be for us to invest in a short time.

As you said altcoins are not as good as bitcoin offers then I think there is no need to look deeper into altcoins. We all know that investing in altcoins is much riskier than bitcoin, so invest in altcoins only if we are sure that it will yield better returns than bitcoin. The bull season is always considered as the best time to invest in altcoins, down season like now really shouldn't do so, if you still want to invest then you should be aware of the risks you face. My advice is to only invest a small fraction in altcoins even top altcoins, and focus on bitcoin until the bull market comes.

[pooya87]

That part about centralization is true, but at lest when compared to stuff like doge or shiba, you're buying a coin backed by something. In case of ETH those are smart contracts built by it, so other coins depend on its health. In case of BNB you're pretty much buying Binance stock. I think both these options are better than actual shitcoins like bitcoin sv so I wouldn't put them in the same basket.

Ok. That makes sense. But I still think that the risks are the same. ETH or BNB are as centralized as BSV is. The only difference is that higher number of people have accepted that BSV is a shitcoin compared to those others.

Which altcoins aren't shitcoins in your opinion?

Any altcoin that has an actual use case and has some innovations instead of doing the same thing as was done years ago.
Unfortunately any altcoin I have ever analyzed has had some flaws, some bigger than others but if I wanted to mention one altcoin that is not a shitcoin and has some actual utility I would say Monero.

[EarnOnVictor]

You can disagree with me all you want but the hard data is saying that altcoins come and go while Bitcoin stays.

Bitcoin is number one and I know that disagreement is healthy at times, and I still disagree with you to generalize altcoins. I insist some altcoins are even performing better than BTC, I don't let anything blind me despite holding, trading and using BTC for my regular online payments. Altcoins have also helped me a lot far more than BTC in earning, so it will be unfair for anyone to collective downgrade them. My plight is that we should be sensitive with what we express so that we don't misguide some people.

This does not stop the fact that Bitcoin will always be the best and most reliable, but I won't accept that others are totally useless as you indicated in your first post.

[TheUltraElite]

Altcoins is a profitable investment in cryptocurrency and it can only be profitable for investment during the time it entered a bullish market, because cryptocurrency bullish market affect the lives of other coin's and ressurect some of them whi is already given off for the market, some people do like to invest in a cryptocurrency because cryptocurrency and especially in altcoins because they know that altcoins give more profit when it experience a good volume.

Altcoins giving more profit is all a relative idea - they will give you profit if
1. you bought at a lower price
2. an exchange exists that has that coin listed and has a decent volume
3. you time your sell price to a higher price than buy price.

All these reasons also exist for bitcoin, but you can clearly see that the second point is almost always true and the other two are negotiable for bitcoin. This is not always the case for altcoins.

Also the chance that you bought an altcoin when it was down in the dumps, and that specific altcoin is going 400x during a bull market is pretty low, because firstly nobody buys shitcoins when they are down and with a thousand other shitcoins on CMC/CG, you would be puzzled to make the decision of which one to buy, given your capital is limited.