Not all cryptos are the same

It’s helpful to separate Bitcoin from all other cryptocurrencies. It is unlike all other coins, and in fact, all other crypto-assets are referred to as “altcoins” precisely because they are not Bitcoin.

Then, there are a number of ways to divvy up the rest of the altcoins. There are stable coins (like USDT, USDC, GUSD) which attempt to peg the value of the coin to a fiat currency. There are smartchain platform coins, of which the largest currently is Ethereum (ETH). It has many viable competitors that you may hear about (ADA, SOL, etc.). Another popular type of altcoin are meme coins like Doge, and Shiba Inu. These are fun, community-based projects that attract many retail investors unaware of unit bias, who think owning millions of a coin worth fractions of a penny, is a legitimate way to become a millionaire. Every other altcoin can be thought of as an early-stage, blockchain-based technology company. About 98% of early-stage, VC-funded tech companies fail. But the 2% (or less) that find a market fit and scale their user base (and revenues) can become billion $ companies providing a 10,000X return for the early venture capital investors.

If you begin to separate Bitcoin from the pack, and recognize these broad groups of cryptocurrencies as independent of one another, you’ll have a better chance at understanding where the value lies. Any article or media outlet that groups Bitcoin and Doge together is uninformed or maliciously trying to deceive you.