Bitcoin has not only been an influential trendsetter which ushers in a great wave of cryptocurrencies which is built on a decentralized peer to peer network, but also it has become the de facto standard for all kinds of cryptocurrencies, constantly inspiring an ever-growing legion of spinoffs and followers as well. Before we actually start talking about alternatives to Bitcoin, you should understand and also examine what we mean by terms like altcoin and cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency, broadly defined, is a kind of digital or virtual money which takes the form of tokens or even coins. Some cryptocurrencies have indeed ventured out into the physical world in the form of credit cards or probably other projects, the majority of it still remains intangible and will undoubtedly continue to stay that way. What you need to take away from this is that cryptocurrency is broadly defined as a virtual and digital form of money which can take the form of coins and these can be mined. They also hold immense value in today’s world. Beyond what it is, the field of cryptocurrency is always expanding, and the next digital coin or token could be released tomorrow itself. Bitcoin is the sure known leader of the pack of cryptocurrencies when it comes to market capitalization and popularity. Cryptocurrencies are actually almost designed to be free of the government’s control and manipulation. As stated before, the field of cryptocurrencies is always expanding; therefore, here is a list of some of the most popular cryptocurrencies, just like Bitcoin.
- Litecoin (LTC) was initially launched in the year 2011 and was one among the first cryptocurrencies to be launched, ever. It is often referred to as silver Bitcoin’s gold. As of 9th February 2019, Litecoin has a gigantic market cap of $2.7 billion.
- Ethereum (ETH) was launched in the year 2015. On 9th February 2019 possessed a market cap of $12.50 billion, and this is undoubtedly a mammoth number.
- Dash was initially known as darkcoin and is a more secretive Bitcoin. It offers a lot of anonymity as it properly works on a decentralized master code network which makes transactions almost entirely untraceable. On 9th February 2019, Dash had a market cap of $640.8 million.
- Ripple (XRP) is a real-time global settlement network that can offer instant and certain international payments. It was initially launched in the year 2012. As of 9th February 2019, Ripple had a market cap of $12.7 billion.
- Monero (XMR) is a secure and private untraceable currency. It is open-source and was launched in the year 2014. As of February 2019, it had a market cap of $808.50 million.
