Recently, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse spoke on the current relationship between the digital currency market and the price of Bitcoin. Garlinghouse stated his belief that the correlation between the price of Bitcoin and the price of other digital currencies will lessen in the future, and that “a more rational” market will take form in the future.
As the first decentralized digital currency to reach the public, Bitcoin had a headstart over newer digital assets. In terms of both word-of-mouth and market cap, Bitcoin is still the world’s most popular digital currency.
[maxbutton id="1" ]
Bitcoin’s dominance over the market is significant enough that other currencies are often referred to as “altcoins,” as they are ‘alternatives’ to Bitcoin. Further, when Bitcoin’s price falls or rises, it often correlates with the behaviour of other digital assets."There's a very high correlation between the price of XRP and the price of bitcoin, but ultimately these are independent open-sourced technologies," said Garlinghouse in a discussion with CNBC. "It's early, over time you'll see a more rational market and behaviors that reflect that."At the current point in time, one of Bitcoin’s use cases is its role as the digital asset industry’s reserve currency. Bitcoin is often the only way of purchasing smaller digital currencies and engaging in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), as many do not have pairings with traditional currencies.
The “altcoin” title is a contentious area for some industry advocates. While some proponents believe that Bitcoin serves as an appropriate driving force for the market, others believe that digital currencies serve unique purposes and should not be tied to one another. "It's still a nascent industry, the speculation in the market dominates the trading activity," added Garlinghouse. "I think it's a matter of time until people better understand the different use cases."This year, Ripple observed a significant share of media attention, largely due to the company’s altruistic pursuits. In May, Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary caught the attention of the public when the pair donated $4 million USD (over $5 million CAD) to The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund on behalf of Ripple.In March 2018, late night TV personality Stephen Colbert announced that Ripple donated millions of dollars worth of XRP to DonorsChoose.org, a project aimed at supporting underfunded teachers and classrooms.Image credit: Brad Garlinghouse
Buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital currencies on Coinsquare, Canada’s most secure trading platform.
[maxbutton id="2"]
