Battle of the Three Big Coins! Will We See a Flippening in 2018?

Bitcoin Vs. Ripple Vs. Ethereum!

With Christmas behind us and 2018 in front of us, what can we expect to see that 2017 hasn’t already given us? Bitcoin and Ethereum almost swapped places, Bitcoin’s scaling progress reached a sudden conclusion, and we saw the altcoins explode in price and market cap.

Bitcoin has remained the number one cryptocurrency, with Ethereum as a regular holder of second place. During the holiday season, however, Ripple surpassed Ethereum in market cap and became the number two cryptocurrency.

At the time of writing, Ripple is holding its ground at a market cap of $85 billion, with Ethereum at $73 billion.

Ripple’s market cap peaked to $100 billion due to news regarding large credit card companies testing its RippleNet technology. Following an expected pullback as investors took profit, Ripple now trades at $2.20.

With the combined cryptocurrency market cap fast approaching $1 trillion, is it possible we will see not just one Flippening, but multiple Flippenings between the three biggest cryptocurrencies?

Bitcoin makes the banking sector obsolete, while Ripple seeks to innovate it. Ethereum aims at disrupting other industries outside of the financial sector by becoming a hub of innovation through the use of smart applications.

In the cryptocurrency space, rivalry between different coins usually leads to a sloshing of capital between protocols, similar to what we saw with Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

What is the Flippening?

The Flippening is a term used in the cryptocurrency space to describe one cryptocurrency overtaking another in market cap.

Bitcoin has been the prime target to surpass, and to this day, it has always remained the number one cryptocurrency, with Ethereum nearly managing to become the largest cryptocurrency by market cap in June 2017.

The Real Battle is for 2nd and 3rd Place

Overtaking Bitcoin and maintaining that place is not something easily done. Bitcoin is still the gateway digital asset in the space, and the majority of funds going into altcoins go through Bitcoin first.

The real battle will be for 2nd and 3rd place. With other contenders (such as Bitcoin Cash) not far behind, institutional capital is entering both Ethereum and Ripple’s ecosystems, as both work closely with financial and technology giants.

###More Than One Winner

2018 will be an interesting year for the cryptocurrencies, possibly even more exciting than 2017! As Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple mature in their respective niches, we could see protocols become their own independent ecosystems. It’s going to be interesting to see if Bitcoin can maintain its number one spot throughout 2018.

Written by Luke Dodwell for CrushTheStreet.com 2018-01-02