Altcoins — cryptos that are not Bitcoin — are seeing their prices shooting up due to a confluence of factors and some of them are notably rising.
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For example, Solana’s crypto SOL has jumped to the seventh spot among the world’s top 10 largest virtual coins amid optimism that the blockchain could be a long-term competitor to Ethereum, Bloomberg reports. As of this morning, the crypto, with a $53 billion market cap, was up 26% at $185, according to Messari.
Bloomberg reports that Solana’s SOL token has tripled in about three weeks. Solana, a decentralized blockchain built to enable scalable, user-friendly apps for the world, says it is the fastest blockchain in the world and the fastest-growing ecosystem in crypto, with more than 400 projects spanning DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and more, according to its website.
Jason Yanowitz, Blockworks co-founder, tells GOBankingRates that “we’re witnessing the early innings of a layer 1 war, where blockchains with large war chests of capital are trying to compete with Ethereum to be the go-to smart contract platform.”
The altcoin market share is now a record 35% of investment products, surpassing the 30% highs seen in January 2018, according to a Coinshares report yesterday.
Solana remains the favorite with weekly inflows totaling $13.2 million last week, doubling its total inflows year-to-date, Coinshares reports. Assets under management were at $13 million last week.
Other altcoins, including Ethereum saw a third week of inflows totaling $14.4 million, while market share is at a record 28%, highlighting that while some investors have protocol concerns, its dominance is continuing to rise, Coinshares says.
Other altcoins, such as Cardano, Polkadot and Ripple all saw notable inflows of $6.5 million, $2.7 million and $1.2 million, respectively, it adds.
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“The increase of altcoins’ price is attributed to anticipation for blockchain upgrades, as well as to other major factors, from institutional adoption to decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs),” Delio’s Head of Strategy Oleg Smagin told Blockworks. “In addition, as the recent network upgrade of Ethereum is done, it is natural that investors turn attention toward rival blockchains with similar functionality. If the boom in decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens continues, not only Ethereum but also altcoins like Solana would keep gaining against BTC dominance.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: It’s an Altcoin Season: Solana and Others Shoot Up
