Why Bitcoin is the #1 crypto currency in the world if it's slow and expensive?

[Get-Paid.com]

Yes, it's the first coin ever created, but it's slow and expensive (unless you're using the lightning network which most people and businesses don't).

How come Ripple which is the cheapest and one of the fastest ones - failed investors since 2018 and never reached back to the all time high of $3ish and those who believed in Ripple got 0 yields and a slap in the face, and yet this slow & expensive currency is the holy grail everyone is talking about?

[Silver005]

While it's true that Bitcoin is slower and more expensive to use than some other cryptocurrencies, it has a number of advantages that make it the most popular choice for many people. First, Bitcoin is by far the most widely used and accepted cryptocurrency. It's supported by the largest network of merchants and exchanges, which makes it easier to use in everyday transactions. Second, Bitcoin has the most secure and robust blockchain technology, which makes it highly resistant to attack. Third, Bitcoin has the largest and most active development community, which is constantly working to improve the technology. And finally, Bitcoin has the first-mover advantage,......

most brand recognition and is the most widely known and understood cryptocurrency. While these factors might not be enough to make Bitcoin the best choice for every situation, they do make it the top choice for many people. The slow transaction times and high fees can be overcome with the use of "off-chain" solutions, such as the Lightning Network, which allows for much faster and cheaper transactions. And the developers are working hard to improve Bitcoin's scalability so that it can process more transactions per second. So, while there are some valid criticisms of Bitcoin, it's important to consider the full picture before making a judgment......

[Charles-Tim]

Bitcoin is decentralized, unlike ripple that is completely centralized. But the reason ripple did not got to all-time-high might be because of the SEC lawsuit which has later been won. But if it is not centralized, there would not be such lawsuit.

Bitcoin has more utility. It is well known than ripple. Bitcoin is an asset that can be used for investment and that is the reason bitcoin investors do not think more about the fee. The fee will also later become reduced than it is now.

[Z-tight]

BTC tx's are expensive right now as the fee rate is high, BTC tx's are also not instant, but they are secure. There are other networks that process tx's faster, but these tx's remain reversible for a very long time. But in the BTC network, one confirmation is as good as irreversible, and since blocks are found ~ 10 minutes on average, 10 minutes may be enough to get you that confirmation. Not instant, but it is secure.

BTC is what it is because of its use cases, and you cannot begin to compare it with shitcoins. If you don't see a reason why you should use BTC, you can use the coins you feel are better, that's why it is a free market.

[sheenshane]

I know it's hard to compare a slice of pizza to a whole pizza.
This slice of pizza is Ripple and the whole pizza is Bitcoin, why?  Ripple has been combating the legal issue and this legal battle has created obstacles and hindered Ripple's growth.  It's hard to keep and adopt centralized cryptocurrency.

While Bitcoin is purely decentralized, no one can stop it.
Though the problem is the high fees and I think the Lightning Network was a great solution, but the problem is its adoption is not widespread.
However, it doesn't matter now which is why it gained mainstream attention and is often considered a store of value when it has a slow and expensive transaction fee.

As we saw, there are thousands of altcoins trying to alternate the Bitcoin network problem, but only Bitcoin truly gives security and has a decentralized nature.

[TrustedBitcoiner]

it's not about fast and cheap transactions, it's about immutable, permissionless, peer to peer transactions. without these properties all we have here is a terribly inefficient shared database hyped up with buzz words like "blockchain" ( XRP )

[Stalker22]

Bitcoin was the first big cryptocurrency and that gives it an advantage.  There is only a limited amount that will ever exist, which makes it scarce too.  It is also decentralized, meaning no government or bank controls it and  as more places accept bitcoin, like companies and stuff it gets more popular.  The value goes up when more people want it.   

Even with those problems, bitcoin is still the biggest cryptocurrency.  Itll probably keep that top spot for a while since it had such a big head start and people trust it more than other cryptocoins.

[LDL]

Bitcoin is a completely decentralized currency and its control power is not in the hands of a single person, institution or organization as it is with other centralized coins. Since it is a decentralized currency, investing in it has no risk like centralized coins, but the full control of it is in the hands of the investor. Since Bitcoin is a decentralized currency, there are no SEC cases against it like there are other centralized coins. Moreover, it is equally accepted in any country of the world and its universality prevails in different countries of the world as other centralized coins do not. Bitcoin can reduce inflation, Bitcoin transactions are so secure that the identity of the transaction is not possible to identify, Bitcoin is a decentralized currency with no government, bank control over it, so no single person, entity, organization has control over its price. Since the supply of Bitcoin is finite, its supply will never change, just as the supply of paper money can be constantly increased. Bitcoin is the world's number one digital currency due to its multiple advantages.

[bayu7adi]

Some people still think that privacy and decentralization are more valuable than transaction speed, which differs by just a few minutes or a few dollars. While using XRP might be a bit more convenient overall, there are other, more insecure threats that users face. Up until now, I believe the pure coin with enough fairness is still BTC. Its network is strong, and network manipulation is challenging.

Comparing BTC to other cryptocurrencies is like comparing a Dad to a little kid. The Dad seems like a legacy, but he has better experience and perfection compared to the new kid who may look fresh but poses risks to users in various aspects.

I still agree, BTC remains the #1 cryptocurrency.

[Fundamentals Of]

Bitcoin is probably the only coin among several thousands of cryptocurrencies that is truly decentralized. The rest are only claiming decentralization. Your example Ripple, just like other altcoins, have central figures with them. It has a CEO, a headquarter, etc. That's the reason a case was filed against them. It's not decentralized at all. With Bitcoin, Satoshi is just a name, it doesn't have a president or a CEO, an office, etc. Bitcoin is probably the only cryptocurrency that can't be shut down.

[Marvelman]

Bitcoin's the original gangster of cryptocurrencies, you know? It paved the way as the first one out there, so it's got seniority in the crypto game.  People recognize Bitcoin's name and trust it more compared to some random new coin trying to make a name for itself.  Bitcoin also has a giant community rallied around it, not to mention investments from big institutional players.  That stuff lends Bitcoin legitimacy.  Im not saying it's the fastest or has the lowest fees - it doesn't.  but the trust and support behind Bitcoin make it hands down the most valuable cryptocurrency today.

[dansus021]

The reason for XRP it is simply because they are too centralized in my opinion and Correct me If I am wrong, but they don't offer incentives for their miner/validator. XRP hold by the big companies I mean like real company behinds it so people may not trust fully.

[tech30338]

Bitcoin is number 1 because without Bitcoin those other tokens are nothing or probably don't exist since they only base it on bitcoin, also when the price of Bitcoin drops, others follow.
Yes, it is slow and expensive but we also know that there is a development going on to fix that issue using Lightning network correct me if im wrong on this,
it will offer fast transaction and low fee's, I think el salvador will be the first ATM that will be using it in the coming years, and hopefully all over the world.

[Ayers]

Why Bitcoin is the #1 crypto currency in the world if it's slow and expensive?

You need to make a more general assessment to know which coin is best, don't just rely on cheap transaction fees and transaction speed to judge which coin is good or not. To create a coin with cheap transaction fees and instant transaction speed is not too difficult and almost all new altcoins also have this feature. But to create a highly secure and decentralized coin, almost no other coin can do that except bitcoin. So you shouldn't be surprised that bitcoin is slow and has high transaction fees but is still people's top choice.

[CODE200]

Because it's the most secure crypto in the world and it's the pioneer crypto that has started all of this, and regarding the speed of bitcoin, it's probably because Satoshi didn't expect it to be this big and have a lot of people to be using it for their transactions and it's not really expensive because you can buy in sats and you can slowly accumulate towards getting 1 bitcoin and even if you weren't able to get to that point, you would still be able to make a lot of money if you have a decent amount of satoshis accumulated overtime and you were able to hold on to that amount when bitcoin hits another ATH.

[headingnorth]

it's not about fast and cheap transactions, it's about immutable, permissionless, peer to peer transactions. without these properties all we have here is a terribly inefficient shared database hyped up with buzz words like "blockchain" ( XRP )

Bitcoin could have all these fantastic properties that you mention, but if it is too expensive for the average person to utilize then all of these fantastic properties are pointless and meaningless to anyone who isn't a whale or millionaire.

Bitcoiners who dismiss or downplay the transactions fees are rich elitists living in their own bubble who have little to no idea how bad these fees are for the average person.



It is pointless to make bitcoin legal tender in a country like El Salvador when paying even a couple of dollars transaction fee is a small fortune for an average person living in El Salvador.
Almost no one in a country like El Salvador can actually afford to use bitcoin.

Even in the first world, paying ten to twenty dollars fee just to buy $100 of bitcoin is ridiculous. It makes it impossible for anyone to dollar cost average, which is the point of DCAing and putting in small amounts over a period of time.

[Natsuu]

Bitcoin's the original gangster of cryptocurrencies, you know? It paved the way as the first one out there, so it's got seniority in the crypto game.  People recognize Bitcoin's name and trust it more compared to some random new coin trying to make a name for itself.  Bitcoin also has a giant community rallied around it, not to mention investments from big institutional players.  That stuff lends Bitcoin legitimacy.  Im not saying it's the fastest or has the lowest fees - it doesn't.  but the trust and support behind Bitcoin make it hands down the most valuable cryptocurrency today.

No doubt, Bitcoin's like the OG in crypto townas it is earning street cred for being the first and having a solid community backing it up. Trust is the name of the game and the early bitcoiners believe in it so are the newcomers. Plus, with its limited stash and decentralized vibe, it's got that sense of scarcity tht makes everyone so eager to atleast have a bitcoin. Ofcourse it's got some hurdles, but it's status like a digital is keeping its spot dominance. Bitcoin still has a long way to go and a lot to offer.

[DapanasFruit]

I am sure that there are now coins which can boost to be so much better than Bitcoin in many factors and areas but as far as I know BTC is still the number one and the one patronized by many and it is because many of us are looking at its growth potential and legitimacy among the many players in the expanding cryptocurrency market. With Bitcoin, there is no more need to ask if this whole thing can last a lifetime as BTC is already beyond that phase. And with the coming of an approved ETF in 2024, that strong reputation is going to be cemented for good.

[Solosanz]

Because to be the top 1 cryptocurrency doesn't have to be fast and cheap, but Bitcoin has two things that the other projects don't have, that are: decentralized and security!

In terms of privacy, Monero is better than Bitcoin.
In terms of fast and cheap, any centralized shitcoins with low volume can do that.

Anyone can fork Bitcoin and make the new cryptocurrency that claim to be decentralized and secure, but so far after 14 years there's no coin can overtake Bitcoin.

[Jegileman]

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency, its way of operation differs from every other cryptocurrency. Once its decentralized nature cannot be beaten by any other cryptocurrency, I don’t see any coin that will pass bitcoin as number one. This is more than a decade that bitcoin was first launched and we have not seen a new technology in digital currency that is close to perfection and not decentralized like bitcoin.