Apart from being the most disruptive innovation in the 21st century, Bitcoin is also one of the most popular cryptocurrency out there. Although deep knowledge of bitcoin in rare, a lot of people have definitely heard of bitcoin. Bitcoin is the unofficial poster child of cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies that take up the form of tokens and have no physical form. There are several other cryptocurrencies in the market that are similar to bitcoin. Hence, here are some of the best alternatives to bitcoin one can look into if interested.
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Table of Contents
Ethereum
Ethereum is the second biggest cryptocurrency in the market, right after bitcoin with a market difference of 1/10, since it was launched in the year 2015. This cryptocurrency runs on its own cryptographic token known as the ether, this acts as the medium to move around on this platform.
In 2016, Ethereum was classified into ETH and ETC. As of 2020, Ethereum is worth $15 billion.
Features of Ethereum;
- Decentralized software
- Enables smart contracts and decentralized applications
- Higher ceiling for transactions
- Low transaction costs
- Zero switching costs
- Supports multiple platforms
- Censorship and secure from malware attacks
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Litecoin
This bitcoin alternative hit the market in October of 2011 by the MIT graduate and former Google engineer, Charlie Lee. It is the silver to bitcoin’s gold because of it being the first cryptocurrency to follow in the footsteps of bitcoin.
Litecoin ranks in the sixth spot in the list of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world with this cryptocurrency worth $3 billion. This particular cryptocurrency managed to go from $4 per token to $350 in the span on an year.
Features of Litecoin;
- Open-source payment networking
- Use of scrypt
- Faster block generation rate by 75%
- Faster transaction confirmations
- Transaction price is a fraction of a dollar
- Larger trading volume
- Secure wallet encryption
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Ripple
Ripple is a cryptocurrency that is trusted and used by many traditional financial and banking institutions such as American Express, RBC, Santander and more. It is also a reliable platform for long-term cryptocurrency investments.
It is the third largest cryptocurrency in the world following bitcoin and ethereum. Ripple is currently worth $9.2 billion in the market as of January of 2020.
Features of Ripples;
- Centralized cryptocurrency
- Low cost international payments
- Complete transparency from both parties
- Low transaction costs
- Unique consensus ledger method of conformation
- Does not require mining
- Minimal network latency
- Fast transaction speed and settlement time
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Monero
This 2014 cryptocurrency is run by the community via the donations made by them. Monero has attracted quite the attention from enthusiasts of the cryptocurrency world. This bitcoin alternative has racked up a market worth of $994 million as of 2020.
Features of Monero;
- Untraceable
- Ring signatures method for utmost privacy
- Decentralized
- Hash algorithm
- Stands out for its anonymity factor
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Tether
Tether belongs to a group of cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins. Launched in 2014, it is one of the first of its kind.
Stablecoins such as tether aim to stabilize the market value of the currency as most virtual currencies experience highly volatile period where the cost of the tokens rise and fall dramatically.
Tether is a block chain-based platform that has a reputation of attracting otherwise cautious cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Tether holds the fourth position in the list of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world with a market value of $4.6 billion as of 2020. For more details, visit the official app.
Final Words
These reliable alternatives to bitcoin are definitely worth looking into with their impressive and innovative portfolio as cryptocurrencies.
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