When asked if he had ever used other cryptocurrencies to buy pizza, Bitcoin Pizza legend Laszlo said: "It was just Bitcoin at that time. For me, altcoins or whatever you want to call them, 90% of them were just a copy and paste of Bitcoin, and then they changed the logo, or changed something. I was not that interested in those, I was interested in Bitcoin. If I didn't try to buy it, someone else would have done it. I didn't know anything about Bitcoin at that time, but I only studied it for a few months and figured out how to mine it."
Laszlo's remarks reveal a long-standing problem in the cryptocurrency space: the value and uniqueness of altcoins. Altcoins, or cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, are often considered improvements or alternatives to Bitcoin. However, as Laszlo points out, most of them are merely copies and slightly modified versions of Bitcoin.
The current situation and challenges of altcoins
The original intention of the emergence of altcoins was to improve certain defects of Bitcoin or provide new functions. For example, Litecoin#Litecoin aims to provide faster transaction confirmation time, Ethereum$ETH introduces smart contract functions, and Ripple#ripple focuses on cross-border payments between banks. These altcoins have indeed brought technological innovation and new application scenarios to a certain extent.
However, the market is flooded with a large number of altcoins, many of which do not actually offer real innovation. They may simply modify the Bitcoin code, change the name and logo, and try to attract investors through marketing and hype. As a result, many altcoins are short-lived and cannot maintain their value in the long run.
The Future of Altcoins
Despite the large number of copies, the altcoin market is not without merit. Some altcoins have indeed succeeded by introducing unique technologies and real-world applications. For example, Ethereum’s smart contract platform has become the foundation of the decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystems. Projects such as Cardano and Polkadot have innovated in blockchain scalability and interoperability.
In the future, the success of altcoins will depend on whether they can provide real value and solve real problems. The market will gradually eliminate projects that lack innovation and practical applications, while those that can truly promote technological progress and meet user needs will stand out.
Summarize
Although Laszlo's viewpoint is biased towards Bitcoin, it also provides us with a perspective to reflect on the altcoin market. Although most altcoins may be just copies, there are also real innovators among them. For investors and users, the key is to identify which projects have long-term value and potential, rather than being confused by the short-term hype of the market. Just as Bitcoin has found its position in continuous evolution, truly valuable altcoins will also show their true potential in the test of time.
