Will there ever be a Bitcoin un-pairing?
Everyone refers to the value of cryptocurrency relative to Bitcoin for now...
Most cryptocurrencies are bought and sold through Bitcoin. Traders enter the market from fiat, into Bitcoin, and then on to other currencies. This seems to be less and less the case, however.
Coinbase, for example, offers Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash purchases from fiat. These coins can then be used as trading pairs on a number of markets, although Ethereum is the main trading pair alternative to Bitcoin. Still, by and large, Bitcoin is the trading currency for all other currencies.
Numerous markets offer other trading pairs. Binance, for example, offers trading pairs with the usual lot, but also with NEO and their own trading currency, Binance Coin. Of course, to get to or from fiat, Bitcoin is still the main entry point. Many exchanges don't even offer a fiat to crypto option as dealing strictly with cryptocurrencies simplifies many legalities and procedures.
But more often, exchanges are cropping up that allow the purchase of other cryptocurrencies directly with fiat, without buying Bitcoin first. As time goes on, more and more currencies could be bought without ever touching Bitcoin.
Of course, Bitcoin has a few tricks up its sleeve that may retain loyalty. Atomic swaps will be a key to keeping traders coming back to Bitcoin. Since atomic swaps will allow decentralised, peer-to-peer trading of Bitcoin with other atomic-swap enabled coins, Bitcoin will remain an extremely important currency. I believe this one innovation will increase Bitcoin's share of the market back from its low in the 30% range back up to around 50% of the market once implemented and widely used. Atomic-swap capable coins will see a boost in value simply because of the ease of trade between them and Bitcoin.
The innovation of the Lightning network should not be under-estimated. Extremely fast and cheap transactions in the millions per second will reinforce Bitcoin as the dominant trading pair. This is the one current strike against Bitcoin and it is rapidly fading, even just with the broader usage of SegWit addresses. Over time, this will become the new normal and $30 transactions that took a half a day to complete will be forgotten.
The Bitcoin trading pair is here to stay. Entry into the cryptocurrency market from a variety of angles will get easier over time, but this will remain Bitcoin's domain for some time. In the long-term future? Who knows? This remains Bitcoin's game for now.
*This is not professional trading advice - it's just my opinion!
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