The death of the bitcoin clones has proven that you don't need many different blockchains in crypto, only as many as you have the basic political faction:
1. Bitcoin - a simple streamlined store of value for the masses
2. Ripple - the private sector's next generation crypto solution proposed by the villians
3. Dopecoin - a simple streamlined store of value for the youth
4. Darkcoin - a simple streamlined store of value for the heroes
5. BitShares - the public sector's next generation crypto solution proposed by the scientists & philosophers
and from there, you have your smaller factions. Crypto is art imitating human political life.
I like your assessment. Now tell me. Where is Ethereum, MaidSAFE, and Shadowcoin in all of this mess?
Ethereum, NXT, XCP, Maidsafe are the Science or Tech faction
Shadowcoin,Monero,DASH are all the Hero faction
Who do you have in society? The cops (heroes)(the "excellent man"), the robbers or upper class (takers)(the "mass man")(Ripple), the masses (BTC), the lower or broke class (DOGE), and the scientists who discover new tech / philosophers who discover new knowledge for all mankind
It's all here, Sociology 101
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THCF3w5jlVg&list=PLAD7F6C0959E5D201Blockchain community development is predictably following the eternal legacy human sociological factions that have never changed throughout history. So yes, there should be at least 5 major blockchains representing the masses (BTC), nerds (BTS), rich (XRP), poor (DOGE), champion for the poor (DASH).
There has never been another unique social / political faction throughout history simply because you are inherently good or evil, and since people react to being treated good the same way, but react to being treated bad differently, you have those who fight back (man vs man), and the sheep who do not. That is 4 factions. the 5th faction - science / tech is born of man's desire to live and overcome the primitive way of life (man vs nature).
At first bitcoin was just the nerd faction, then when more people got BTC, clones appeared, and factions evolved.