A cryptocurrency is a broad term defined as virtual or digital money which takes the place of tokens. Some of the cryptocurrencies have now made their way into the real world, with credit cards and various other projects however majority of these virtual currencies remain in the virtual world. Cryptocurrencies are developed as codes by teams and processed as transactions which is known as mining. Bitcoin leads the pack of cryptocurrencies regarding market capitalisation, user base and preference.
Cryptocurrencies are entirely free from government interference or control all the cryptocurrencies that were created after bitcoin are known as altcoins and have tried to improve or add onto the features of bitcoin. If you want to trade with bitcoin, visit BUY Bank online. You can easily buy or sell your bitcoin provided you have a bitcoin wallet.
Most important cryptocurrencies
There are more than 1 600 types of cryptocurrencies in existence and the umber keeps growing. Below is a list of 10:
- Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin was launched in 2011 and was amongst the first cryptocurrencies created. It has been referred to the silver to bitcoin’s gold as it was created directly after bitcoin. It is based on an open source global payment network which is not controlled centrally by any organisation or authority. It uses scrypt which may be decoded using CPUs of consumer grade. Litecoin may be similar to bitcoin in many ways, but its block generation is much faster. Litecoin is being accepted by many merchants and has a market value of $2.63 billion and per token value of $43.41.
2. Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum was launched in 2015 and is a decentralised software platform. It enables Smart Contracts and Distributed Applications to be build and to run without downtime, fraud or control by a third party. The applications found on Ethereum are run on the platform specific cryptographic token known as ether. Ether can be compared with a vehicle that moves around in the Ethereum platform and is sought out by developers who may want to develop applications and then run them inside this platform. In 2014 Ethereum released a pre-sale for ether and this received awesome responses which brought about the era of the initial coin offering known as ICO. It can be utilised to codify, decentralise or secure and trade anything you desire. In 2016 there was an attack on the DAO and this brought about a split of Ethereum into Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). It has a market value of $12.49 billion and the price per token is $118.71.
3. ZCash (ZEC)
Zcash is decentralised and an open source cryptocurrency which was launched in 2016. Zcash offers users privacy and transparency on transactions they choose. Zcash claims it provides more security and privacy and that all transactions are noted and published on a blockchain however details of the identity of the sender, receiver and amount are private. Zcash offers what they call a shielded transaction which enable recipients to encrypt content using an advanced cryptographic technique called zk-SNARK. It has a market value of $291.25 million and its value per token is $49.84.
4. Dash
Dash was first known as Darkcoin and is a more secretive version of bitcoin. It allows more privacy as it works on a decentralised master code network which makes transactions untraceable. It was launched in 2014 and it has received a growing acceptance in the short space of time. It can be mined using either CPU or GPU. In 2015 darkcoin changed its name to Dash which is short for Digital Cash and it operates under the ticker DASH. Its technological features like DarkSend and InstantX were not affected by this. Dash has a market value of $640.76 million and its value per token is $74.32.
5. Ripple (XRP)
Ripple offers instant, sure and low-cost international payments that operate on a real time global settlement network. It was launched in 2012 and it enables banks to settle international payments in real time at lower costs. Ripple uses a unique method of confirmation and does not require mining. Ripple is one of the most alluring digital currencies among the traditional financial institutions. Its market value is $12.69 billion and its per token value is $0.308.
6. Monero (XMR)
Monero is a safe and secure, private and undetectable digital currency. It was launched in 2014 and attracted interest from many in the cryptography community. Its development is completely community-driven and donation-based. It enables privacy through its technique known as ring signatures. Its market value is $808.50 million and the price per token is $48.18.
7. Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
In the history of altcoins, bitcoin cash has an important place because it is one of the earliest and most fruitful hard forks of the original bitcoin. In 2017, due to a split in the digital currency, bitcoin cash was created. The difference between bitcoin and bitcoin cash is that the former places limits on blocks which is 1 megabyte while the latter has an increased block size from 1 MB to 8 MB. They believe that having a larger block will make room for faster transactions. The market value of Bitcoin cash is $2.23 billion and its price per token is $126.49.
8. NEO
NEO started up in 2014 and was originally called AntShares. It is the largest cryptocurrency that has emerged from China and people sometimes refer to it as the Chinese Ethereum due to its similarities. It experienced one of its most successful years in 2017. The price per token increased from $0.16 per token to $162 per token in just one year. The market value is $492.48 and the value per token is $7.58.
9. Cardano (ADA)
ADA offers all of the same benefits as Ethereum, as well as a few extras. It offers a platform for D Apps and Smart Contracts just like Ethereum. ADA seeks to solve some of the most pertinent problems facing cryptocurrencies which is interoperability and scalability. It aims to address issues related to international payments which may sometimes be very expensive. ADA has a market value of $1.16 billion and its price per token is $0.041.
10. EOS
This is one of the latest digital currencies, which was launched in 2018. EOS has been designed modelling Ethereum and thus offers a platform that developers can create decentralised applications. Its initial coin offering was one of the most lucrative in history, ranking a record of $4 billion. It is revolutionary because it doesn’t utilise the mining mechanism to create coins. It includes a thorough set of rules that govern the process. It has a market value of $2.49 billion and its price per token is $2.74.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin continues to lead the pack of digital currencies and is preferred by many. Currencies like ripple and Ethereum are becoming increasingly popular. Cryptocurrencies seem to be here to stay although there is great competition amongst the various providers.
