Important cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin you should know about
When you think of cryptocurrency, the first crypto that comes to your mind is Bitcoins, and why not. But there are a number of other cryptocurrencies which are not only a decade old like Bitcoin but is also much more important than Bitcoins.
Below, we’ll observe some of the most important cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. But, a caveat: we can’t cover all the cryptocurrencies because as of early 2021, there are around 4,000 cryptocurrencies. Out of these, some are functional and enjoy popularity while some are idle or non-active.
Litecoin-2011
First on our list is Litecoin. Rivalries began when in 2011, Litecoin and Namecoin were launched. Litecoin was created by Charlie Lee, an MIT graduate and former Google engineer. The algorithm of Litecoin is more complex than Bitcoin and also faster in processing. It was the first to follow bitcoin’s gold steps as it was known as “silver to bitcoin’s gold”. As of January 2021, Litecoin had a market cap of $10.1 billion and per token value of $153.88, making it the sixth-largest cryptocurrency in the world.
Peercoin-2012
It is an alternative cryptocurrency based on the bitcoin framework. Similar to bitcoin and litecoin, peercoin stores value, offer complete anonymity, can be transferred through internet without any central authority.
Developed by Scott Nadal and Sunny King, both software engineers, peercoin was the first digital currency to use a combination of proof-of-stake and proof-of-work consensus algorithms.
At its peak in 2013, when its market cap was $163 million, peercoin was the 4th largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ripple.
Dogecoin-2013
Launched in 2013, Dogecoin was created as a joke, and may be for the same reason it has Shiba Inu dog as its logo. Even though it was created as a meme, its blockchain has merit. Dogecoin’s unlying technology is derived from Litecoin.
During late 2017, Dogecoin was participating in the cryptocurrency which sent its values up but it was followed by a downfall in 2018 when it lost much of its value. it again gained value and proved to be valuable in April 2021 before falling again to $0.21.
Ripple-2013
Ripple is known for more of its digital payment rather than cryptocurrency, XRP. It operates on an open-source which allows the transfer of money any form, whether USD, Pounds, Litecoin, or Bitcoins.
So basically, it acts as a bridge for other currencies. If one user wants to receive Bitcoins, it is not mandatory for the sender to send bitcoins. He may send dollars and the receiver will receive bitcoins. This exchange is possible as each currency has its own gateway eg. CADbluzella.
Stellar (XLM)-2014
Stellar is an open source network which provides financial solution by connecting the financial institutions. Huge transaction that normally take days, couple of intermediaries, and a cost of good deal money can be executed without any interference through XLM at minimal cost.
It has positioned itself as an enterprise blockchain, it still remains open source which mean that anyone can get access to it. Founded by Jed McCaleb, who was also co-founder at Ripple. As of January 2021, market cap of Stellar is $6.1 billion.
Monero (XMR)-2014
It has been launched with strong focus on decentralization and scalability, and it enables complete privacy by using a special technique called “ring signatures”. It is an open source cryptocurrency and is a secure, private and untraceable.
With it being private and untraceable, it has been linked to criminal transactions. But on the brighter side, it being untraceable can be beneficial to dissidents of oppressive regimes around the world. As of January 2021, its market cap stood at $2.8 billion.
Tether (USTD)-2015
Tether was the one of the first and most popular of a group named, stablecoins, cryptocurrency that aimed at getting their market value to a currency or other external reference point in order to reduce volatility. Tether and stablecoins attempt to smooth out price fluctuations in order to attract who may stay cautious otherwise.
This cryptocurrency allows its users to utilize a blockchain network and related technologies to transact with traditional currencies with minimal volatility. Tether in January 2021 was the third largest cryptocurrency based on market cap at $24.4 billion.
Ethereum-2015
It is a decentralized software platform that enables Smart Contracts and Decentralized Applications to operate without any downtime, control, fraud, or nosiness from third party. This feature makes implications for those who are without any state infrastructure and state identification, as they can get access to bank accounts, insurance and other such financial products.
After Bitcoin, Ethereum is the biggest digital currency, based on its market cap. As of early 2021, the market cap of ET is around 19% of that of Bitcoin’s.
Polkadot (POD)-2016
Polkadot is a unique proof-of-stake cryptocurrency that aims to deliver interoperability between other blockchains.
The feature which differentiates POD from ET is the “relay chain”. It means that the user can create their own blockchain while using security that POD’s chain already has, while at ET you can create your own blockchain but you need your own security for that. This concept is known as shared security.
Similar to Cardano’s co-founder, POD was founded by Gavin Woods, who was the core co-founder of Ethereum but had a disagreement. As of January 2021, POD got a market cap of $11.2 billion.
Cardano-2017
The team behind this crypto created it with extensive experiments and peer-reviewed research. The research-based crypto is created by engineers, mathematicians, and cryptography experts.
Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of Cardano, was also among the five founding partner of Ethereum. But later due to disagreement, he decided to create this.
Similar to Ethereum, Cardano aims to be financial operating system of the world by providing financial products. As of January 2021, it has a market cap of $9.8 billion.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)-2017
In the crypto world, a fork takes place as a result of debate and argument between the developers and the miners. BCH holds great importance as it is a very much successful fork and also the earliest.
When different faction can’t agree on the same thing and doesn’t reach an agreement, sometimes the digital currency is split, with the original remain intact with its codes and the new chain begins as a new version of the prior coin.
BCH was created as a result of one such split at bitcoin in 2017. As of January 2021, the market cap of BCH is $8.9 billion.
Binance Coin (BNB)-2017
Binance Coin is a utility cryptocurrency that works as a fee associated with trading on the Binance Exchange. Those who use tokens as means of payment can trade in exchange for a discount.
Before having its own main net launch, BNB was an ERC-20 token that operated on the Ethereum blockchain. This exchange is the most widely used exchange in the world, based on its volume. As of early 2021, its market cap is $6.8 billion.
