In the end the cryptocurrencies that will truly matter will be those that connect all others together

I fully agree! The future will show how many core networks will stay alive, I actually think the market will make their choses for a limited selection of blockchains, maybe per vertical segment. When not, the umbrella blockchains and networks are the way to go to be able to connect to the whole crypto space and do not have to integrate to many different technologies and all.