BitCoin is not only the crypto to lead market. There are many numbers of cryptocurrencies in Crypto Market. Today we go through some of the most traded and well known Top Cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency, or digital currency, is an invention of the Internet. Basically, someone out there thought, “hey, what if we can create a system where money is not bound by geography, like the internet” and lo and behold, now we have over 3000 cryptocurrencies going around. The currencies inspired by Bitcoin are collectively called altcoins and have tried to present themselves as modified or improved versions of Bitcoin. While some of these currencies are easier to mine than Bitcoin is, there are tradeoffs, including greater risk brought on by lesser liquidity, acceptance and value retention. Here are the list of top Cryptocurrencies and what they are known for.
BITCOIN / BTC
The original cryptocurrency and the one that started it all, Bitcoin was created and released in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, an anonymous figure. Bitcoin has the biggest market cap to date around $10billion, overshadowing all other cryptocurrencies in this list, combined. For most people, an introduction into cryptocurrencies is an introduction to Bitcoin. Because Bitcoin has such a big reputation, all other cryptocurrencies are referred to as ‘altcoins’ – alternative coins because they are alternatives to Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is a form of digital currency, created and held electronically. No one controls it. Bitcoins aren’t printed, like dollars or euros – they’re produced by people, and increasingly businesses, running computers all around the world, using software that solves mathematical problems.
It’s the first example of a growing category of money known as cryptocurrency. Bitcoin can be used to buy things electronically. In that sense, it’s like conventional dollars, euros, or yen, which are also traded digitally.
However, bitcoin’s most important characteristic, and the thing that makes it different to conventional money, is that it is decentralized. No single institution controls the bitcoin network. This puts some people at ease, because it means that a large bank can’t control their money. As of today ie on 09/02/2023 BTC Market Cap is $437,907,280,153.
BitCoin Known For – being the first cryptocurrency, easiest to get & widest acceptance
LITECOIN / LTC
Litecoin, launched in the year 2011, was among the initial cryptocurrencies following bitcoin and was often referred to as ‘silver to Bitcoin’s gold.’ It was created by Charlie Lee, a MIT graduate and former Google engineer. Litecoin is based on an open source global payment network that is not controlled by any central authority and uses “scrypt” as a proof of work, which can be decoded with the help of CPUs of consumer grade. Litecoin uses the memory intensive Scrypt proof of work mining algorithm. Scrypt allows consumer-grade hardware such as GPU to mine those coins.Although Litecoin is like Bitcoin in many ways, it has a faster block generation rate and hence offers a faster transaction confirmation. Other than developers, there are a growing number of merchants who accept Litecoin.
The transaction confirmation time taken for Litecoin is about 2.5 minutes on average (as compared to Bitcoin’s 10 minutes). The Litecoin network is scheduled to cap at 6,975,311,332 currency units.
Litecoin has inspired many other popular alternative currencies (eg. Dogecoin) because of its Scrypt hashing algorithm in order to prevent ASIC miners from mining those coins. However it is said that by the end of this year, Scrypt ASIC will enter the mass market.
Litecoin Known for – alternative to Bitcoin, most similar to Bitcoin
ETHER / ETHEREUM / ETH
Launched in 2015, Ethereum is a decentralized software platform that enables Smart Contracts and Distributed Applications (ĐApps) to be built and run without any downtime, fraud, control or interference from a third party. During 2014, Ethereum had launched a pre-sale for ether which had received an overwhelming response. The applications on Ethereum are run on its platform-specific cryptographic token, ether. Ether is like a vehicle for moving around on the Ethereum platform, and is sought by mostly developers looking to develop and run applications inside Ethereum. According to Ethereum, it can be used to “codify, decentralize, secure and trade just about anything.” Following the attack on the DAO in 2016, Ethereum was split into Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Ethereum (ETH) has a market capitalization of $199,858,969,234, second after Bitcoin among all cryptocurrencies.
Created by Vitalik Buterin and launched in mid-2015 after a successful crowdsale, this platform was marketed as the “next generation cryptocurrency and decentralised application platform” and has a market cap of $199,858,969,234. Peer-to-peer smart contracts are what Ethereum is known for, aside from the cryptocurrency. It enables people to code and enact contracts without third parties. For example, this guide explains how you can set up a smart contract for a conference, where organisers can sell tickets, set a maximum number of attendees, and provide refunds automatically.
Ethereum Known for – smart contract, first alternative to Bitcoin, Vitalik Buterin