A first-mover advantage describes the advantage that companies have when they are the first significant player or pioneer in a new market. This advantage results in higher revenues and profits compared to companies that enter the market later.
Notable examples of companies that have been able to capitalise on the first-mover advantage include Amazon.com, eBay, YouTube and Facebook. These pioneering companies were able to gain an advantage over competitors who entered the market later.
First movers in the crypto space
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, marking the beginning of blockchain technology in 2009. Bitcoin has had the highest market capitalisation since 2009 and is often referred to as digital gold. It is also the most secure and decentralised blockchain network.
A few years later, in 2014, Ethereum emerged as the first platform to enable smart contracts, pioneering this subset of blockchain. This functionality has made Ethereum a major platform on which numerous decentralised applications (DApps) are built, and has had a significant impact on the development of blockchain technology. The Ethereum network and altcoin (ETH) have the highest market capitalisation and user base next to bitcoin.
