Whenever we think about cryptocurrency, we think about bitcoin. These two have become almost synonymous. But, there are more than five thousand cryptocurrencies in circulation other than Everything About Tether https://tribuneonlineng.com/everything-about-tether/. Altcoins are not bitcoin; rather, it is the “alternative coin” (now you know where the name is derived from).
Although bitcoin has taken most of the limelight, altcoins were invented to make some improvisations on bitcoin. To be honest, there are many altcoins that have real potential as well. In this regard, the first altcoin in the market was “Ethereum”.
Types of altcoins
Although it is different from bitcoin, they too have some categories in them. Here are the types of altcoins:
Utility coins
In utility coins, the user gets the service access for it. You can better understand it with an example. Suppose you want to spend a filecoin; you would have to spend it on the particular filecoin network. It is also a decentralised network that uses peer-to-peer technology.
Stablecoins
When the concept of cryptocurrency first got a real example with bitcoin, people got highly excited about it. However, the volatility of the market really took the interest away from the mass to some extent. Therefore, stablecoins were introduced to the market to reduce the volatility. The main catch was that each stablecoin was pegged to other existing fiat currency. For example, they have connected to Euro or US dollar, which implies less volatility in the market. Facebook’s Libra is one example of stablecoins thatare connected to US dollars. It really lacks volatility to some extent which is very common in bitcoin pricing.
Security coins
Security tokens provide more support to the users as these are more like an investment contract. Therefore, anyone who has spent their money on the security tokens should expect some voting rights, profit sharing, and equity in the company. So, we can say that it has a link to the business; therefore, we can use the strict guidelines and security laws
Mning based coins
It is the most traditional way of using cryptocurrency. The process is just like bitcoin. It means that the coins would need to be mined in order to come into the circulation. Also, to validate any transaction, the miners will validate the transaction. Only then the user will be able to make a proper transaction. Any digital coin that we use as the traditional coin will be able to mine as well.
What are the popular altcoins?
Although there are more than five thousand altcoins in circulation, they also have some top ones. By the top, we mean which are more popular among people. Not all altcoins are the same. Some provide better security, while some provide better speed. And some of them also provide stability. After bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency that came to the market was Ethereum, which is a popular altcoin. Apart from that, other famous Altcoins are Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ripple, etc.
Ethereum
Bitcoin has been in circulation since 2009. And altcoins have been here for more than one decade now. Still, the only competitor of bitcoin can be ether. You must have heard the name everytime there is a discussion about other potential cryptos apart from bitcoin; Ethereum was invented as an improvised version of bitcoin. Bitcoin has more acceptance all over the world. At the same time, Ethereum has a more user base because it is a world contract. And based on this contract, all the decentralised apps are running, and smart contracts happen.
Ripple (XRP)
It is one open-source cryptocurrency that has the ability to appear faster, cheaper and make cross border transactions. It has its own blockchain on which all the activities take place.
Litecoin
Litecoin came into the market in 2011. It is the closest to bitcoin as they have similar functionalities. In fact, it has some easy transferrable options as well in terms of transactions. As they are quite the same in nature, there come obvious comparisons as well. However, Litecoin is considered far lighter and faster than bitcoins. Also, Litecoin is a far cheaper alternative.
There are many other altcoins in circulation. You can trade-inwith any of those on the platform.