The crypto space is arguably the vastest digital space, both in technology and asset market. Apart from technology and finance, sentiments also set in as a couple of projects exhibit certain ethics which is welcomed by several people. People who gets caught in this love spell develops an unconditional love for the project in question and stick to them as a result. People like this would hardly pay attention to any other project, especially when they are similar to their beloved project. ‘Maximalists’ – a general and well-fitting name for investors in this line of thought.
A very strong believe in a project's use case, ethics and overall structure breeds maximalist views. Bitcoin and Ethereum probably hold the highest number of maximalists, but many other ‘good’ projects have investors who are ready to stick with only them and till the end. Tough decision I must say. Imagine how it feels to see such project record a 20% value loss in 24hrs. Cryptocurrency HODLers are arguably the most emotional humans, but maximalist conviction can soak up emotions too.
Choosing to stay with just one investment amidst tons of enticing project is a very unique decision. I’m certainly not in this category! Maximalism is a popular culture pioneered by early Bitcoin investors who believe in the extreme superiority of the alpha blockchain and disagree on the importance of any related project. I recently ran into a community of Bitcoin maximalists and if you wonder what their perspective could be, take a look at this.
While this dedication is plausible, blockchain and cryptocurrency go beyond just one project; or even a few.
Different altcoins solve global problems. With each new reputable altcoin project comes new solutions and an improvement on existing solutions to further drive global adoption. Bitcoin fanatism keeps the maximalists from realizing the fact that global adoption will only remain an illusion for blockchain technology and cryptocurrency especially if these cryptographic tokens are only seen as a store of value. This orientation places cryptocurrencies in the same position as gold. Gold remains a term of luxury and a store of value despite being almost as old as man itself.
Bitcoin maximalists capitalize on the market superiority and the impressive worth of bitcoins to push their maximalist views. Utility-wise, the numerous altcoins beat bitcoins to it. If we forfeit the goal of global adoption and become comfortable with seeing cryptocurrencies as a store of value, then Bitcoin will always continue to reign supreme. However, if global adoption continues to the target, then Bitcoin becoming less relevant is just a matter of when not if.
If a maximalist’s dreams come true and only one cryptocurrency and blockchain survives; we could be left with a ‘super streamlined’ sector with little or no diversification. While Bitcoin blockchain’s trailblazing feats are commendable, maximalism of any cryptocurrency project remains an unhealthy practice, arguably. At the end of the day, technology wins. Each ‘shitcoin’ which solves a mainstream problem or invents a new way of doing things stands a chance of being the new world technology.
It will be hard to support every project out there. Sentiments will always kick in. Doing things differently doesn’t always translate to being wrong. Actually, being wrong is a maximalist’s least reason for resenting other projects. well, it’s the competition that keeps things growing, this space has a lot of it. Diversifying support as well as investments ensures that these projects grow.
