The change of climate in the world of cryptocurrency has been given a huge shake-up by the return of Donald Trump to the White House, as the former crypto-sceptic has embraced the sector enthusiastically with a series of pledges to establish policies and place people in important administrative positions that will make crypto more prominent.
As with everything else in these turbulent early weeks of the second Trump presidency, many crypto investors will become fully invested in what is happening. Others, however, want to see how things settle down.
Nonetheless, if the overall trend is favourable to crypto, its use as an alternative to fiat currency may grow, making accepting crypto for business a more common payment method, one your own company may become involved in.
Much of the focus has been on Bitcoin, not least because Mr Trump has promised to build up a strategic Federal reserve of the currency, but it makes sense to believe that an environment generally conducive to helping crypto thrive will benefit many other currencies too. The question is to what extent – and how discerning should XRPaynet users be?
Candidates For The Next Big Thing
This is a relevant question in the context of various developments, not least the fact that different currencies are being hailed as the next big thing.
Highlighting this as the best of the new emerging cryptocurrencies, Cryptolian has argued that the best days of the market for established currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, which have all “seen their prices plummet” as recent investors who have made big gains are now cashing out.
For this reason, it argues, the best prospects lie in picking up rising currencies, chiefly Aureal One (Dplume). Others it tips as good prospects include DexBoss, 5thScape, Best Wallet Token and Chill Memez.
It stated that despite the downturn in the market overall, investors are still seeking “The next big cryptocurrency asset with long-term viability,” describing Aureal One as “a pioneering project in the blockchain-driven gaming and metaverse space”.
This involves giving Metaverse gamers the chance to “own, trade and monetise” their in-game assets. The unique selling point, it explains, is that the developers no longer maintain ownership of assets. Instead, the gamers themselves maintain ownership through a Blockchain system.
Important Niche Or Passing Novelty?
Whether this turns out to be a valuable niche asset or something bigger remains to be seen, but it may highlight the level of innovation and variety that continues to emerge in the marketplace. The question for those who might increasingly use crypto in payments is whether this diversification will increase or decrease market volatility.
On the one hand, it may be that a wider range of crypto with differing features will lead to a cornucopia of novelties, each of which may attract initial interest that dies off, leaving the currencies to wither away. On the other, it may be that currencies with an extra benefit prove more enduringly attractive for that very reason, making them more stable.
These need not all be in ethereal spaces like the Metaverse either. For instance, 5thScape has a focus on real-world industries such as healthcare, supply chains and finance. Indeed, Cryptolian notes, its main target market is businesses looking for Blockchain integration and fast market access, rather than pure investors.
Avoid Following The Leads Of Politicians
While new currencies of this kind may have a strong appeal and firm logic behind their prospects for growth, there are some ‘new things’ in Crypto that don’t look like very smart investments.
A less-heralded feature of the Trump-led Crypto bandwagon was the new president and the first lady launching their own cryptocurrencies, $Trump and $Melania. No doubt the president believes everything he touches turns to gold (and not just the paintwork of the Trump Tower), but other politicians have been getting their fingers burned.
The Central African Republic adopted Bitcoin as legal currency back in 2022, but the decision by President Faustin-Archange Touadera to launch the country’s own meme coin this month foundered amid suspicions that the announcement was a Deepfake scam.
This led to X taking down an account for the meme coin, with President Touadera’s government having to confirm publicly that the initiative was real and get a new X account set up.
If this misadventure caused a problem in Africa, things were even worse for Argentina’s president Javier Milei. He promoted a little-known cryptocurrency via a post on his X account, leading to a sudden surge in value before a crash.
This intervention led to him being accused by the opposition of partaking in a scam and there have been calls for him to be impeached. He is now under formal investigation for potential corruption.