What do we really need from an altcoins, what is the next big thing?
We have anoncoin, platforms for trading and smart contracts, tokens..
Where are we heading?
Bitcoin was something completely new, can we expect another one?
Platforms that can do it all and to scale - Waves has all of the above in short term roadmap and tokens/trading now. Ethereum could have all that as well, and we are yet to see what Ardor will look like.
I think the tech is fast approaching production level maturity - Etherium and Waves will be huge when the vast potential is realised by the mainstream. So huge, in fact, that in a short while people will be using Bitcoin tokens without even realising they are not technically bitcoins and the Bitcoin scaling won't matter when the majority of BTC transactions are handled on and off the BTC blockchain by a few hundred trusted gateways via these platforms. I think the banks and a few other industries will be reeling in a couple of years.