Bitcoin has led the crypto world for so long, and is so influential that the terms crypto and bitcoin are often used interchangeably. However, the truth is, digital currency is not only made up of Bitcoin. There are numerous other crypto currencies that are part of the crypto world. The purpose of this post is to educate our readers about cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin in order to provide them with a wide range of options to choose from if they wish to make a crypto-investment.
So let’s start with the first name on our list, which is:
Litecoin:
Launched in 2011, Litecoin is often referred to as the ‘Golden Silver of Bitcoin’. Charlie Lee – MIT graduate and former engineer at Google – founder of Litecoin
Like Bitcoin, Litecoin is a decentralized, open source payment network that operates without a central authority.
Litecoin resembles Bitcoin in many ways and often makes people think: “Why not go with Bitcoin? Both are the same!”. Here’s a catch: Litecoin’s block generation is much faster than Bitcoin! And this is the main reason why merchants around the world are becoming more open to accepting Litecoin.
Ethereum:
Another open source, decentralized software platform. The coin was launched in 2015 and enables smart contracts and distributed applications to be built and run without any downtime.
Applications on the Ethereum platform require a specific cryptographic token – Ether. According to Ethereum’s core developers, the token can be used for business, security and decentralization.
Ethereum faced an attack in 2016 that saw the currency split into two: Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.
In the race of top cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is the second most popular and is right behind Bitcoin.
Zcash:
Zcash comes out in the later part of 2016. The coin defines itself as: “If Bitcoin is to http for money, Zcash is to https”.
Zcash promises to provide transaction transparency, security and privacy. The currency also offers ‘shielded’ transaction options where users can transfer data in encrypted code form.
Dash:
Dash is basically a secret version of Bitcoin. It is also known as ‘darkcoin’ due to its secretive nature.
Dash is popular for offering an extended anonymity that makes its users’ transactions impossible to trace.
The coin first appeared on Digital Market Canvas in 2014 Since then, it has developed a huge fan following in a very short span of time
Ripple:
With a market capitalization of over $1 billion, Ripple is the last name on our list. The currency was launched in 2012 and offers instant, secure and low-cost payments.
Ripple’s consensus ledger does not require mining, a feature that sets it apart from Bitcoin and other mainstream cryptocurrencies.
The lack of mining reduces computing power which ultimately reduces latency and speeds up transactions.
Let’s finish:
While Bitcoin is leading the crypto pack, rivals are picking up the pace. Coins like Ethereum and Ripple have overtaken Bitcoin in enterprise solutions and are growing in popularity every day. As per the trend, other cryptos are here to stay and will soon give Bitcoin a real hard time to maintain its status.