With all the hype and attention that bitcoin receives it wouldn’t come as a surprise if someone doesn’t know that there are several other cryptocurrencies as well. They may not be as popular as bitcoins but they store value in the monetary unit and sometimes investors even exchange their bitcoins for these cryptocurrencies depending on whose value is higher in the market. Bitcoins were indeed the first cryptocurrency that paved the way for other digital currencies that have been sharing the virtual cash market for some time now. But the story doesn’t end there. As the digital world expands the chances of more cryptocurrencies being produced also increases. So it would be enlightening to know as much as there is about the currency that is so impactful that it is making a mark in the world.
Defining Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is a means of payment that is purchased in exchange for money. Cryptocurrency is bought so that it could be used to pay for properties and facilities that the buyer needs. The token chips that are bought for gambling in casinos are a good example of what a cryptocurrency is by definition. Every type of cryptocurrency is obtained through buying it on the web on a bitcoin exchange like Independent Reserve or exchanging it with another cryptocurrency. If anyone tells you otherwise, know that it’s a scam to steal your money and leave you empty-handed.
What are cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin?
According to the website coinmarketcap.com, there are an estimated 6700 cryptocurrencies that are being used for transactions in the digital currency market. But not all of them store enough value to be used or accepted globally by investors and users. The calculated net worth of all the cryptocurrencies was $2.2 trillion and more confirmed on the same website on April 13 of this year and the bitcoin’s net worth was estimated to be $1.2 trillion. The importance given to bitcoins is not explainable just like how it’s unexplainable why people still buy off capitalists funding them more despite knowing their treatment with the labour class.To learn more more about bitcoin and its trading system mostly traders consult https://bitqt.site/.
The list of cryptocurrencies has a few other names that fall after bitcoins.
- Ethereum (market value 263.4 billion)
- Binance Coin (market value 87 billion)
- XRP (market value 81.8 billion)
- Tether (market value 45.4 billion)
- Cardano (market value 44.7 billion)
- Polkadot (market value 39.3 billion)
- Uniswap (market value 18.8 billion)
- Litecoin (market value 18.1 billion)
- Stellar (market value 14.9 billion)
Few of these cryptocurrencies have features that bitcoins don’t have and yet these digital currencies seem to be missing the spotlight.
Ethereum
Introduced in the web market recently in 2015, Ethereum is a digital currency that comes second to bitcoins. This cryptocurrency appeals to users because the purpose of the development of ethereum was to include users and investors from a diverse range originating from countries where decentralized financial commodities can be purchased. Cryptography is used on the token that goes by the name of Ether. It is a safe and secure cryptocurrency that runs on a decentralized platform that allows Smart Contract.
Binance Coin
Binance coins are used in the payment of fees in the transactions taking place in binance exchange. Chanpeng Zhao created the binance exchange to enable investors to freely participate and avail discounts for exchanging their tokens.
Tether
Tether was introduced to create a stable cryptocurrency. The famous bitcoins are widely known to be extremely volatile making them unstable. Tether comes in the form of stablecoins with the claim to decrease volatility and ensure investors a long term and profitable gain over time. The reason why Tether’s value can be considered a worthy cryptocurrency is that it is directly linked to the US dollar.
Stellar
The founder of Stellar, Jed McCaleb primarily built it for transactions that require enormous payments between the buyer and seller, Stellar runs on an open blockchain system. Stellar forms a link between banks and monetary organizations and enables the user to directly send the huge amount of funds that would normally take many days, waste a lot of time and cost a hefty price for the procedure.
Polkadot
Polkadot was developed by Gavin Wood. He was one of the members of the group who introduced Ethereum. Polkadot is different from Ethereum for it is built on a protocol that allows both acceptable and unacceptable blockchain to join together. Shared security in Polkadot gives more protection to the blockchain.
Conclusion
All these cryptocurrencies have their advantages and disadvantages. If someone is looking for a virtual currency to invest in, they’ll have to do a bit more research on which cryptocurrency is best to invest.
