Many of us are aware of the Myriad of Alternative Coins, that is, Crypto-Currencies, aside from Bitcoin. For those of us that have not heard of Ethereum, Monero, Dash, or Steem, these all are currencies... but not all are the same. Some use different technology "under the hood" that enable, for example, faster transaction times, Asic-resistant mining, greater or lesser privacy, or "smart-contracting," among nearly unlimited other unique features, all "baked" into the code that the currency operates on, its "Blockchain."
Many of these "Alt Coins" has seen unprecedented pumps in value over the last 6 months, particularly in the last month. PinkCoin, as an example, absolutely blew my mind as I watched it Sky-Rocket from 200 to 1200 satoshies (1/10000000 of a bitcoin), to then settle in the 600 Satoshi range, this being a normal speculative curve. But to watch a Crypto-currency increase 500% in value in a weekend, as I was trading on Poloniex, was a feeling of awe, delight, and then, to some extent, terror.
How can we truly assess the value of some of these Monies? I went to the PinkCoin website... and I like the coin very much... but these Massively Inflated Speculatory Price Curves are something that one must wisely consider when buying and investing into Crypto-currency. For those of us that are not merely in the market to speculate, I would suggest that for an Alt Coin to have long lasting value, It must do more, and be more, than just a currency, it cannot be a "One Trick Pony," so to speak.
Bitcoin is Monolith, and like all Crypto-Currencies, It is merely code that can be updated. Many of these "Unique" features that some of these alt coins offer, could one day be incorporated into bigger, more advanced Blockchains, potentially sending the value of the alt plummeting... as it is no longer Unique. This is why I like the notion of Hybrid Currency/Platforms. If a coin can be a Currency, and also an entire platform performing a suite of Useful Related Features, then clearly it has a far better chance of weathering these next few years of Crypto-Currency competition.
The reason why an Alt Coin should be more than just a currency for it to be a good long term buy is that Bitcoin, itself, is already the Blockchain-World's de-facto currency. It has faced many difficulties over the past few months, the SEC rejecting a Bitcoin ETF, and, in particular the vitriolic and polemic Segregated Witness Vs. BitCoin Unlimited Debate... much of which has contributed to the recent shift of billions of dollars into Alt Coin Valuations (The Flippening). The fact, nonetheless, remains that Bitcoin runs on the world's most powerful decentralized supercomputer, that, if it so were directed, could use it's computational power to wreak havoc on smaller blockchains. It also is the case that Bitcoin has Brand Name Recognition that none of the other Alt Coins can even begin to yet touch. So an alt coin should be more than just money.
With the above in consideration, I highly recommend you do your research and choose wisely when investing in alt coins. To trade them is one thing, but to invest long term is another, and even in trading it is very helpful to know that what you are trading has further potential for growth in valuation. An example of a "good long" Alt Coin which I recently invested a few hundred dollars into, and which I believe fits the criterion of doing more than just being money, and further more being a platform and incorporating smart-contracting and privacy, Is "Bitbay." ($BAY)
The two main features you should look for in a good long term Alt Coin Investment are, Privacy and Smart-Contracting. Bitbay, much as the name sounds like, aims to compete with the likes of Ebay, or Alibaba. It is a decentralized Marketplace (comparable to Open-Bazaar), in which you can utilize unbreakable "Smart-contracts" to buy and sell on a User Interface similar to other market places. In the near future, these multi-signature Smart-Contracts can be customized using python. It's completely free, and doesn't charge 8, 10 or 15 Percent fees like Amazon does. You can Hire Services or Look for a Job, send "bay," (its essential cryptographic unit), via email anywhere in the world, and has many other features I need not go into in a Steem.it article. And something both necessary and somewhat unique in Bitbay will be a feature rolled out this fall, "rolling peg," which will flash-freeze and unfreeze staked coins to reduce volatility in the market. Just a few days ago, Its Bitbay holding community successfully had its first vote on an update to code in its blockchain. What I like about BitBay is that It's more than just a way to send and receive money, It is that plus an entire Platform of Features with Smart-Contracting that does what Fin-Tech was meant for very well... buying, selling and exchanging Goods, Value and Services all over the World, with anyone, with the security of a trust-less, decentralized, and fee-free blockchain.
I hope this Article has been of some use to you in your future Crypto-Investing Ventures. Stay safe and Invest Wisely!
My twitter: https://twitter.com/cryptoboater
Bitbay site: http://bitbay.market/#
Thank you so much for showing interest in BitBay! I am a member of the core team and like to follow up on any attention we receive, we very much appreciate the shout out.
For any readers who would like more information on BitBay, I strongly suggest you head to our Slack, where our core team and developer are typically available for questions: http://bitbay.market/wp-login.php?action=slack-invitation
Bitcointalk ANN thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=890531.0
Again, thanks for the press! We're scaling up and aim to greatly increase brand awareness in the second half of 2017.