What It Could Mean for Altcoins

In the earlier part of 2019, altcoins seemed to be performing strongly, with many calling the trend "Altseason."

Since Bitcoin began its 2019 charge starting with the "April Fool's day rally," most altcoins seem to be slipping when compared to the top-ranked cryptocurrency.

Some say Bitcoin's dominance will continue to increase while altcoins continually lose ground.

Bitcoin rose to almost eclipse the $20,000 price mark while altcoins also posted all-time highs.

"Most altcoins provide little-to-no tangible value or real-world use. Expect these altcoins to evaporate in short order. However, there is tremendous user-driven momentum in cryptocurrencies that are providing real-world utility on blockchains with tangible value on key industries around the world."

McAfee even clashed with veteran trader Peter Brandt earlier in July 2019 on the issue of altcoins regaining a foothold in the market.

"The bubble didn't burst, it is better to say that it is just starting to inflate. The formation of the fundamental components of the cryptocurrency ecosystem is underway, the ICO era and the time when cryptocurrency could be considered as a tool for quick earnings have passed. I can say with confidence that the altcoin season will begin together with the adoption of technology, it is the technology that will determine the future liquidity of the market of altcoins and the general vector of market development. The future season of altcoins won't cover the whole list of altcoins, it will be related to the coins that present definite value for space."

Of these top-10 altcoins from a year ago, only Litecoin has a percentage decline below 50%. Iota suffered the most, dropping more than 80% during the period.

"Many altcoins benefited from the last bull run in $BTC. Cryptomaniancs expect alts to do so again - they may be very disappointed. 2000.com bubble is analog. Following 2001-02 tech collapse, dotcoms with real value exploded. The 'alt'.coms went bankrupt."

During the 2018 bear market, commentators like Xapo President Ted Rogers expressed the belief that the price downturn could be the beginning of a mass extinction event for altcoins.