Bitcoin has led the crypto world for so long and so dominantly that the terms crypto and bitcoin are often used interchangeably. However, the truth is that digital currency does not consist only of Bitcoins. There are many 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 to provide them with a wide range of choices – if they intend to make crypto-investments.
So, let’s start with the first name on our list, namely:
Litecoin:
Launched in 2011, Litecoin is often referred to as “the silver to Bitcoin’s gold.” Charlie Lee – an MIT graduate and former Google engineer – is the founder of Litecoin.
Like Bitcoin, Litecoin is an open source decentralized payment network that operates without a central authority.
Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin in many ways and often makes people think, “Why not go with Bitcoin? Both are similar!”. Here’s a catch: Litecoin’s block generation is much faster than Bitcoin’s! and this is the main reason why merchants around the world are becoming more and more open to accepting Litecoin.
Ethereum:
Another decentralized open source software platform. The currency was launched in 2015 and allows smart contracts and distributed applications to be built and run without any interruptions.
Applications on the Ethereum platform require a specific cryptographic token – Ether. According to Ethereum’s core developers, the token can be used to trade, secure and decentralize almost anything.
Ethereum suffered an attack in 2016 where the currency split into two parts: Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.
In the race of leading cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is in second place in popularity and is just behind Bitcoin.
Zcash:
Zcash appeared in the later part of 2016. The currency is defined as: “if Bitcoin is like http to money, Zcash is https”.
Zcash promises to provide transparency, security and privacy of transactions. The currency also offers a “shielded” transaction option so that users can transfer data in the form of an encrypted code.
Dash:
Dash is originally a secret version of Bitcoin. It is also known as “Darkcoin” due to its secretive nature.
Dash is popular for offering advanced anonymity that allows users to make transactions untraceable.
The currency first appeared on the canvas of the digital market in 2014. Since then, it has enjoyed a large following in a very short period of time.
waves:
With a market cap of over $1 billion, Ripple is the last name on our list. The currency was launched in 2012 and offers instant, secure and cheap payments.
Ripple’s consensus ledger requires no mining, a feature that makes it different from Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies.
No mining reduces computing power, which ultimately minimizes latency and makes transactions faster.
Complete:
Although Bitcoin continues to lead the crypto pack, rivals are picking up the pace. Currencies like Ethereum and Ripple have surpassed Bitcoin in enterprise solutions and are growing in popularity every day. Following the trend, other cryptocurrencies are here to stay and will soon give Bitcoin a really tough time to maintain its status.