I think one of the milestones that the cryptocurrency market needs to achieve is the decline in the correlation of bitcoin from the rest of the market. It appears that the cryptocurrency market is still driven by bitcoin in that whatever direction bitcoin takes the rest of the market follows regardless of the fundamentals of the other coins in this market. This is worrisome as bitcoin has some fundamental flaws that need to be corrected in order for it be successful in the long-run. As bitcoin is not governed by a centralised authority it is much slower in implementing changes or reforms. As a result the whole cryptocurrency market is being driven by a currency that is slowly progressing which again can be frustrating.
I really would like to see the correlation decline between bitcoin and rest of the cryptocurrency market. I think in order to achieve this we need to see other coins be successful and appreciate in spite of the issues that plague bitcoin and further appreciation in its value. When other coins begin to pave their own direction and take control of their own destinies then the cryptocurrency market will take another progressive step in its maturity and increase its success in integrating into the financial system. I think the value of the cryptocurrency market with increase significantly with this increased maturity.
Currently I don't believe we are at that stage in the development of the cryptocurrency market as bitcoin still dominates the direction of the market by a high degree. It's unfortunate as I see many coins successfully developing yet changes in their value are more dependent on changes with bitcoin. This is in spite of the fact that many of these coins are rather independent of bitcoin other than being paired with it on exchanges for purchase. I believe much of the demand for bitcoin is because of these pairings on exchanges and if it weren't for these pairings most people who not need to buy bitcoin. I suspect we will see this market develop to the point where bitcoin has less of a role in it, time will see this change occur, however, the faster we see this maturity the better so reforms and changes that speed this up should be encouraged and supported.
Yeah I still think it'll be a while before coins start to detach themselves from other coins. Bitcoin still holds 37% of the market. And most major gateways only let you purchase the top 3 or 4 coins. Many investors don't get past this stage and just go for bitcoin or ether. Like you said, the pairings are a problem as well. Everything being paired against those top coins. So if BTC dives, it drags everything with it. Still early days but things will sort themselves out. Good post.
The market is still in its early stages so there are many imperfections in it but you are right, over time the market will sort itself out. It would be nice if it could happen quickly but often things don't happen as fast as we like but there is nothing we can do about it so there is no sense getting too frustrated by it.
Good post. Agree that bitcoin drives the cryptocurrency market but that just because it is the most popular one. With Ethereum coming into the picture now i think it may not be the same forever.
Yeah I agree, Ethereum has been successful at charting its own path and its price though still correlated with Bitcoin, is less so than other currencies. I think this was evident both ways in that when Bitcoin was appreciating at the end of 2017 Ether did not participate very much and when Ether appreciated at the beginning of 2018 it did so on its own and because of its own successes.