When someone mentions cryptocurrencies, the first thing that comes to your mind is the Bitcoins, as the first digital currency that is taking over the world. But, there is a lot more crypto money in the world. Altcoins are all the other cryptocurrencies that are not Bitcoins, but most of them are their fractions. It’s interesting that some people who strongly believe that there is no other currency worth mining and trading, name the other coins “shitcoins”. Someone calculated that there are more than 5,000 altcoins and if you are interested in another currency, you can really find one that will be the best for you.
Experienced investors and miners already know what are the other currencies worth investing, but if you don’t have such an experience, and you are willing to try something else, instead of Bitcoins, we prepared a list of the most popular alternative coins you can buy or exchange.
1. Ethereum
This is the second most popular cryptocurrency that is present on the market. It was founded by a man named Vitalik Buterin, who liked the way Bitcoins work, and decided to try something new and different, but still similar to the most popular digital currency. Developers were aware that these coins will never perform strongly, but they decided to make it stable and reliable. After two years of hard work, Ethereum was launched in 2015.
There are decentralized applications that are the most recognizable feature of this currency, known as dApps, that are hard to track and hack. Even though it’s one of the biggest competitors to the Bitcoins, Ethereums are still at least six times less worthy than them. You can trade them through the verified platforms like cryptogps, that allow you to earn from the crypto coins you own.
2. Litecoin
When it was first released in 2011, people believed that it will become a strong opponent to the Bitcoin, but some developers used this competition to make the first known cryptocurrency even better than it was at the moment. The developer of Litecoin, a man named Charlie Lee, was working on the blockchain network when he realized there are ways to improve it. But, he decided to create a cryptocurrency that will become strong and widely accepted. On the other hand, all the altcoins are helping Bitcoin to become even more stable. Just like in real life, when we don’t have a competition, there is no wish of improving. Altcoins are maybe better as a separated asset, but in the sea full of digital coins, they are helping the “golden one” to shine even brighter.
Of course, Litecoin transactions are faster and cheaper, and in some countries, it’s accepted as an alternative of fiat money, and people can pay with them for their food, coffee, and going to movies or concerts.
3. Ripple
Ripple has its network that allows users to make international payments with low fees. These transactions are transparent and legitimate, and you can always track the whole process. You don’t need to mine through the network so you can find these coins. You are using a token that is pre-mined by the developers. That also means that you won’t need to use computer power.
Ripple is an example of how the e-money can work properly, and many banks are interested to adopt it and accept it. People are realizing how it works, and are aware of its efficiency. So, this currency has a big chance to be Bitcoin’s biggest competition in a year or two.
4. Bitcoin Cash
As its name says, it’s a fraction (or people in this industry call them forks) of the original idea for a successful cryptocurrency. It uses the same technology, but the rates are still lower than Bitcoin’s. BCH is a result of endless arguments between BTC developers, and when they couldn’t settle, they decided to move on and make something new. Since they knew how the most popular currency worked, they used their knowledge and patience to create Bitcoin Cash.
The difference is that they don’t have pre-determined block sizes. The Bitcoin’s block can be the only 1MB, but BCH’s blocks can be bigger, up to 8MB, that according to them, is guaranteeing faster transactions. As time goes by, they make more changes, ensuring that people won’t mix this fraction with the original currency. It’s still less worthy than its older brother, but it’s pretty stable.
5. Tether
This is an altcoin also known as stablecoin. Stablecoins are highly linked to fiat money. Tether is related to the American dollar, and the difference between stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies is that they don’t have drastic ups and downs, because of their connection to the global monetary system.
It also works with blockchains, and the best thing is that exchanging them for cash is easy and doesn’t require safety checkups regularly. But, also there aren’t a lot of Tether coins in the market, and that’s one of the reasons why they worth almost equal to dollars.
6. Libra
It’s a currency that we still wait to be launched, and it’s provided by Facebook. Many people are waiting for it, knowing that this social media platform is a giant, thinking that they will have something exceptional to offer. In 2019, Facebook released an announcement, but they mentioned they want to ensure everything is legal and regular before they launch their cryptocurrency.
7. Monero
This can be the first time to hear about this currency, but it exists on the market since 2014. It was created by a group of cryptography enthusiasts, that asked for donations to build the Monero network up. This currency is secure, safe, private, and hard to track. It can work with bots too, but in those cases, at least one real participant needs to be present.
They maybe aren’t worth much, but its technology was linked to some criminal activities, and that’s why most of the people are avoiding it.
Of course, this is not a complete list of all the alternative crypto coins. There are a lot more, and you need to research a lot, especially when you are interested in something else than Bitcoin.
