A lot of people (altcoiners and bitcoiners) usually discuss altcoins as if there was some sort of competition where <insert your favorite altcoin> is Facebook and Bitcoin is myspace or other nonsensical comparisons.

Since Bitcoin has a bit of a Gox induced crisis of faith, I'd like to take this opportunity to settle this matter.

If the theory is correct, that some altcoin is truly a Bitcoin competition, then this altcoin would do well when Bitcoin isn't doing well. So since bitcoin declined sharply in the last 4-5 days on non Gox exchanges from around 800 to lows around 600 (a 25% fall), you'd expect to see this change reflect in some way positively on some truly competing altcoin right?

• ANC: flat to slightly declining
• DGC: flat
• DOGE: flat to looking for bottom
• DVC: sharply declining
• FRC: flat
• FTC: slow decline
• IXC: looking for bottom
• LTC: trending down
• NMC: flat to trending down
• NVC: flat to trending down
• NXT: flat to trending down
• PPC: no unusual pattern, average about flat
• QRK: flat
• TRC: trending down
• WDC: sharp decline
• XPM: trending down

So why, if some argue altcoins are competition to bitcoin, are they not doing good right now? Because they're not competition. Bitcoin is altcoins reserve currency that provides fungability to all of them. Bitcoin does good, altcoins do good. Bitcoins do bad, altcoins do bad.

I hope this settles the debate once and for all.