It is starting to look a little old-fashioned for investors living on the digital edge.
Some people are turning away from the original coin designed to be an alternative to regular cash, in favor of its descendants, which are native tokens of platforms that host smart contracts and apps.
In 2023, MarketVector's Smart Contract Leaders Index, which tracks major tokens of this kind - including ether, dot and solana - is up 36%, beating evenBitcoin's 33% rise. Solana's token is up 76% this year.
Bundeep Rangar, CEO of Fineqia, said he expects the biggest returns from smart contract tokens on platforms that support DeFi apps.
He said that those are ones that you will find capital appreciation, similar to what a growth stock will be.
According to CoinShares, investors in the $1 trillion world of digital assets appear to agree, as investment products tracking ether and solana have seen small inflows, even though they suffered four consecutive weeks of outflows.
Around seven of the top 20 biggest assets are smart contract token, including ether and dot, solana and cardano.
BofA analysts also pointed out the use of smart contract tokens and the applications they power as similar to growth stocks in the equities world, typically technology shares.
In a February 24 research note, analysts at Bank of America wrote that the year of 2023 will be the year of token price divergence.
The cord may be fraying because smart-contract tokens take up its super-growth mantle, as it has been long traded in tandem with tech stocks.
The 30-day correlation with the Nasdaq went negative on Feb. 23 for the first time since December, where a measure of 1 indicates that the two assets are moving in lockstep.
The strength in smart-contract token this year points to a solid performance by the most established DeFi protocols despite the market ructions of 2022, according to some watchers. They cautioned that the global macro outlook and central bank policy could affect the growth of cryptocurrencies projects and their associated token.
James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, warned that it was too early to call a major divergence in the field of criptocurrency. The sector's shadow still looms large with its share of the total market cap up slightly to 40%, from 38% at the beginning of the year.
Butterfill said such departures could be a possible sign of the growing up of the criptoverse.
We should be increasingly adopting the view that the market will become more sophisticated and more mature as it evolves, and we will start to see price divergence.