Just like Solana, this altcoin was launched promising world-class speed, the ability to challenge Ethereum, and the support of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
This altcoin closed the year badly
One of the most-launched cryptos to hit the market in 2022 was Aptos (APT), a Layer-1 blockchain network that some are calling “the next Ethereum (ETH)” and “the next Solana (SOL).” The token came with a world-class developer team, tremendous excitement, and hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital funding.
Unfortunately, Aptos arrived on the crypto market on October 19th, just days before the collapse of FTX. Add in the fact that most of the venture funding comes from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, and it’s understandable why traders dropped the token. As we stated as Kriptokoin.com, Aptos made its debut at $ 9, saw $ 10.25 in its first week and dropped to $ 3.07 before the end of the year.
Similarities between Aptos and Solana
Being called ‘the next Solana’ in 2021 would be the biggest compliment for a cryptocurrency. At the time, Solana was one of the hottest cryptocurrencies, lauded for its fast transaction processing speeds and rapidly growing ecosystem. In a head-to-head comparison with Ethereum, which is still in the process of preparing to implement The Merge, Solana looked like a potential winner. Also, Solana came with the stamp of approval from Sam Bankman-Fried, who still maintains his reputation as a legendary figure in the crypto world. However, fast forward to 2022, the situation was reversed. Yes, Solana was still one of the fastest blockchains on the planet, but it was also experiencing periods of increased network outages, with some questioning its scalability. Then came the first market meltdown of the year and all of a sudden all bets were in vain.
After Ethereum managed to pull The Merge without any hitches, Solana’s expectations were further dimmed. When the FTX meltdown hit in November and investors realized just how big of a role Bankman-Fried played in getting Solana off the ground, Solana went into freefall. By the end of the year, Solana had dropped nearly 95%. This is why the similarities between Aptos and Solana are very disturbing for investors. Aptos was also launched with the promise of being the fastest Layer-1 blockchain network. It also had the support of Bankman-Fried, who helped Aptos run its $150 million Series A venture capital funding round in July 2022. It also came with a top-notch developer team migrating from Meta platforms. It was the same team that helped create the Diem blockchain project for Meta (then known as Facebook) and gave crypto a seamless pedigree. The future looked bright for Aptos.
Two scenarios for aptos
At the beginning of 2023, Aptos has the potential to be the Solana of 2021 or the Solana of 2022. In the first scenario, the price of Aptos could skyrocket as traders delve into the numbers and realize how low the value of the crypto could be. Currently, Aptos has a market cap of just $490 million. However, it’s about one-ninth the size of Solana, which currently has a market cap of $4.5 billion. One way Aptos stands out from the competition is to focus on large, enterprise-class clients looking to implement large blockchain projects. As Aptos puts it, the blockchain was ‘built with billions in mind.’ This is the same technology used to create a production-grade blockchain for Facebook, which has billions of users worldwide. Solana has had its share of network disruptions throughout 2022, so the ability to gain access to a fast, scalable and robust blockchain network from Aptos could be attractive to large companies.
But in the second scenario, the price of Aptos could drop further throughout 2023. Just as Solana fell 95% in 2022, Aptos could experience a sharp, volatile drop as crypto investors systematically remove all ‘Sam coins’ from their portfolios. Now that Ethereum seems to have fend off Solana’s challenge, the question is whether we can really expect investors to give this altcoin, which has only a few months to make its mark in the crypto market, a big chance. Investors can decide that Aptos is indeed the ‘next Solana’ and then rush to the exits to exit before the crypto drops to zero.
