Altcoins Without Innovation Face An Uphill Battle For Survival


Altcoins Without Innovation Face An Uphill Battle For Survival

Almost all altcoins die. Most do not go to Heaven. They usually run their course in a very brief period of time, for the simple reason they can’t get anyone to use it. Altcoins that offer virtually no innovation tend to struggle forever. After all, a coin that is a replica of others stands little chance of making it in a competitive and crowded marketplace.

Innovation doesn’t always have to be on the technical front. Coin devs who are looking for long term success can forego technical innovation and innovate instead in the area of positioning. They can also introduce entirely different concepts for their coin that haven’t been used by others before.

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Bland Altcoins Face An Uphill Battle

Failure to do this means the cryptocurrency is competing with others who came first. They’re older, more established, and have more value. The undifferentiated coin will struggle to get anyone to take notice, for the simple fact of its inherent blandness. Lack of positioning in a crowded market means many crytocurrencies are utterly forgettable. If you’ve ever gone through a long list of ‘Something-coins‘ you know exactly what I’m saying. Many of these altcoins not only copied code from an original source, but they even include descriptions like “Blahblahcoin is a peer to peer decentralized cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.” You don’t say?

What Problem Does Your Cryptocurrency Solve?

Every successful product launch in the history of the world started by answering this simple, all-important question. If your new cryptocurrency doesn’t solve a problem (and do it much better than alternatives), then what is the point of its existence? Certainly ‘enriching the Dev‘ is not a problem that needs solving. Certainly, ‘I hate the guys at YaddaYaddaCoin so I’m starting my own’ only solves a personal problem.

Valid and growing cryptocurrencies need to solve universal problems.

Copying X11 does not solve a problem. Sure, you might say ‘it solves the problem of over-heating mining rigs,’ but that problem has already been solved by originators of the X11 concept. A copy is just a copy. The number of altcoins launched recently that are attempting to milk the X11 gravy train is enormous, yet they’ve only gone to first base with their positioning and likely will lose steam as fast as they gained it.

If you plan on starting a new cryptocurrency but you can’t think of its positioning (what problems does it solve?) you’re going to be relegated to the dustbin of altcoin history in short order. Believe me when I tell you, you DON’T want to end up there!

Positioning Needs To Be Thought Of Upfront

Market positioning is not something that the ‘community‘ will vote on later. If you’re part of the team bringing a new crypto to market, you need to have your positioning tight. Let’s take a look at what positioning means from a marketing standpoint.

The marketing activity and process of identifying a market problem or opportunity, and developing a solution based on market researchsegmentation and supporting data. Positioning may refer to the position a business has chosen to carry out their marketing and business objectives.

Got all that?

Without any sort of positioning, a cryptocoin ends up rambling around trying to be all things to all people. Without a market position, the target market simply cannot be reached. This basic building block of a successful altcoin is ignored at will by way too many - even though it’s so incredibly important. If your altcoin does not have technical innovation, then you must - at the very least - define a target market and solve a problem. If not, you’ll end up on the Island of Misfit Altcoins, and you really, really don’t want to be there!

The Ironic Component Of Positioning

If you don’t position your crypto, it’s still positioned anyway! That’s the delicious irony of not doing your target marketing homework upfront. Coin Devs who don’t worry about the basics and don’t create a Mission Statement or any statement of purpose have already positioned themselves as a ‘Me Too!’ altcoin. Bitcoin does that. ‘Me Too!’ Litecoin has that feature. ‘Me Too!‘ With undifferentiated features and no positioning you’ll find the resistance to your new altcoin is fierce. Expect constant criticism. Anticipate streams of hatred aimed in your direction.

After all, the number of altcoins just keeps on growing and growing and growing. If you’re planning on adding another alternative cryptocurrency to this huge group, take the time to position your new cryptocoin in a way that is concise and understandable by all. If you do that, momentum will push you to the finish line. If not, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle that will likely end in defeat.

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