Bitcoin might be the “first born” of the cryptocurrencies but it faces serious competition from Ripple and ethereum, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike McGlone warned. 

Speaking on Bloomberg, Mr McGlone warned that while bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, it risks being overtaken by newer, faster competitors like Ripple and ethereum.

Mr McGlone compared bitcoin to tech company AOL which was overtaken by competitor Google.

He said: “That’s the problem with bitcoin, it’s like AOL, it’s the first born.

“It’s getting that way, all the new ones are coming and they’re transacting faster, they’re new and improved. 

“They’re generation two, three or four whatever you want to call it and bitcoin is becoming the old dog.”

But Mr McGlone said bitcoin does have an advantage in being the first cryptocurrency as it is also the most famous. 

He said: “The thing that’s beneficial is that it’s the one that everybody knows, it’s the first born it’s used as the main transaction.”

The strategist warned that the big difference for bitcoin now was major competition from cryptocurrencies like Ripple and etheruem. 

He said :“But things like ethereum, Ripple and litecoin and all the other ones, there’s just so much competition now and that’s the big difference.” 

Ripple has skyrocketed by more than 1,000 per cent since the start of December 2017, when it was trading at about $0.24.

It does not hold the level of anonymity that bitcoin does, which makes the currency more favourable to banks.