Some say altcoins pump once, then it´s over forever. But that´s not always true. If the coin has real technology and usage behind it we could see it go to the moon in the future. Which altcoins have the best potential to stick around and create gains in the future?
Hard to say, but let me give you some,
[1] Ethereum (ETH), obviously as the prime mover of altcoin market, this should be the top choice. Just look at the massive pump in January, it already surpasses its all time high because of the hype around ETH2.0. And although it has a lot of competition, still it remain at the top of the food chain
[2] Polkadot (DOT) - at one time, flips XRP, sets a new all time high. It's market structure is very strong, and it could challenge ETH regarding scalability, specially their "parachains" design.
I have same opinion for holding Ethereum and PolkaDot. Both have bright future. Dot's market structure is growing rapidly for its multi functions as you mentioned. Ethereum is the best altcoin and its Network upgrade is ongoing. After completion of 3 phases, it will perform better than past, so can put positive impact on its market.