Bitcoin has led the cryptocurrency world for so long and so dominantly that the terms cryptocurrency and Bitcoin are often used interchangeably. However, the truth is that the digital currency is not only a part of Bitcoin. 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 in order to provide them with a wide range of options to choose from if they intend to invest in cryptocurrencies.
So, let’s start with the first name on our list, that is:
Litecoin:
Launched in 2011, Litecoin is often referred to as “the silver of Bitcoin’s gold.” Charlie Lee, an MIT graduate and former Google engineer, is the founder of Litecoin.
Similar to Bitcoin, Litecoin is an open source and decentralized payment network that works without a central authority.
Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin in many ways and often leads people to think, “Why not go with Bitcoin? Both are similar!” Here’s a problem: Litecoin’s block generation is much faster than Bitcoin’s! and this is the main reason why merchants around the world are becoming more open to accept Litecoin.
Ethereal:
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 downtime.
Applications on the Ethereum platform require a specific cryptographic token: Ether. According to the core developers of Ethereum, the token can be used to trade, secure, and decentralize just about anything.
Ethereum experienced an attack in 2016 in which the coin was split into two parts: Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.
In the race for major cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is the second most popular and just behind Bitcoin.
zcash:
Zcash came out at the end of 2016. The coin defines itself as: “if Bitcoin is like http for money, Zcash is https”.
Zcash promises to provide transparency, security, and privacy of transactions. The coin also offers the ‘protected’ transaction option so that users can transfer data in the form of encrypted code.
Dash:
Dash is originally a secret version of Bitcoin. He is also known as ‘Darkcoin’ due to the secretive nature of him.
Dash is popular for offering enhanced anonymity that allows its users to make transactions untraceable.
The coin first appeared on the digital market canvas in the year 2014. Since then, it has experienced a huge following in a very short period of time.
Vibe:
With a market capitalization of over a billion dollars, Ripple is the last name on our list. The coin was launched in 2012 and offers instant, secure and low-cost payments.
Ripple’s consensus ledger does not require mining, a feature that makes it different from Bitcoin and other major crypto currencies.
The lack of mining reduces computing power, which ultimately minimizes latency and makes transactions faster.
To wrap:
Although Bitcoin continues to lead the crypto pack, rivals are picking up the pace. Coins like Ethereum and Ripple have surpassed Bitcoin in business solutions and are growing in popularity every day. Going with the trend, the other cryptos are here to stay and will soon give Bitcoin a really hard time maintaining its stature.
