5 Significant Cryptocurrencies, Which Are Not Bitcoin

5 Significant Cryptocurrencies, Which Are Not Bitcoin

Do you know that there are over 12k cryptocurrencies in the world?

And what’s more interesting is that this figure is going up at an extraordinary swift rate.

However, a number of these cryptocurrencies merely exist to benefit their developers and be of little purpose to the users. This leaves only limited cryptocurrencies worth knowing and buying. Hence, investors need to be even more selective than before. Nevertheless, Bitcoin has always been the trendsetter in the race of cryptocurrencies and therefore leading since its inception.

Before we take a look at the various alternatives to bitcoins, let us quickly give a read to the meaning of cryptocurrencies for the newbies to get an initial idea.

Cryptocurrency broadly refers to the digital currency that comes in the form of tokens or coins. This currency exists as one free from the regulations and control of the government bodies. Cryptocurrencies that have evolved after bitcoin are collectively termed Altcoins or Shitcoins. These currencies may have some exciting features unlike bitcoin, however, the security offered by bitcoin is truly unmatched. And due to this reason, bitcoin is still seen as the king of all cryptocurrencies.

5 Significant Cryptocurrencies, Which Are Not Bitcoin

However, it is always great to know more and upgrade your horizon of knowledge with time. This is why we are here to discuss 5 significant cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. So, jump to the following section to start reading.

5 Significant Cryptocurrencies, Which Are Not Bitcoin

The difference between various cryptocurrencies is understood by only a few users, today. While many other traders and investors are still unaware of the difference between them since all of these appear to trade on crypto transactions in the same manner. However, understanding the basic difference between them is vital.

The following list of 5 cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin explains what are these and how are they different from bitcoin.

1. Litecoin or LTC

2011 was the year when Charlie Lee, an MIT graduate, and former Google engineer created Litecoin. LTC emerged as the foremost cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, following its footsteps. This is the reason why it has often been called the silver to bitcoin’s gold.

Litecoin is based on an open-source global payment network. No central authority controls or regulates this network. Also, this network makes use of script as a PoW that consumer-grade CPUs can help decode.

Compared to Bitcoin, Litecoin works at a quicker rate of block generation. This is why it offers a faster confirmation time for each transaction. Moreover, it is good to know that there has been great growth in the number of merchants who accept Litecoin.

2. Ethereum or ETH

Launched in 2015, Ethereum is another alternative to Bitcoin, powered by blockchain technology. It is a decentralized software platform that builds and allows the running of smart contracts and dApps, without any downtime, disturbance, or fraud from the third party.

  • Ethereum aims to develop a decentralized pack of financial products, free for access to anyone in the world.
  • Ether is the platform-specific cryptographic token on which Ethereum applications function.
  • It is chosen by developers, who want to develop and run applications inside Ethereum. In the current scenario, investors, wanting to buy digital currencies using ether, pursue this more.
  • In 2016, Ethereum was divided into Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC), as a result of the attack on the decentralized autonomous organization
  • While 2020 was the year when it switched its algorithm from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoW). This was aimed to let Ethereum’s network run with lesser energy and enhanced transaction speed in a falling economic environment.
  • PoS lets network participants stake their ether to the network, helping secure the network and process the transaction. Participants who do this are awarded ether.

Read More: A Beginner’s Guide To Day Trading

3. Polkadot or DOT

Created by Gavin Wood (one of the founders of Ethereum) Polkadot is a distinct PoS cryptocurrency that allows other blockchains to exchange information. It lets multiple systems such as allowed and disallowed blockchains, as well as oracles, connect and work together. Its relay chain allows exchanging of information between various networks.

Developers can not only create dApps on Polkadot but their own blockchain using the existing security DOT offers. This process is named shared security.

4. Cardano or ADA

Cardano was co-founded by Charles Hoskinson, one of the founders of Ethereum. He helped in research performed by crypto experts, engineers, and mathematicians to bring out ADA. the researchers had to write over 120 papers on different topics around blockchain technology. Today, Cardano has combated Ethereum in the cryptocurrency run and is aiming to be the global financial operating system by establishing Defi products.

5. Bitcoin Cash or BCH

Bitcoin Cash is among the earliest and most prosperous hard forks of the original Bitcoin. Hard forks refer to a radical change to the protocol of a blockchain network that makes previously invalid blocks and transactions valid and vice-versa. Bitcoin cash came as an outcome of the digital currency split. How?

In cryptocurrency, the birth of hard forks usually comes after a series of arguments between developers and miners. Because of the decentralized presence of the digital currency, wholesale changes to the code of coin or token in hand should be made due to general agreement. Based on the different cryptocurrencies, the mechanism for this process changes. On the other hand, in case of disagreement, the digital currency is sometimes split. Here, the original chain remains true to its original code, while the new chain begins as a new version of the existing coin, with necessary code changes. Hence, the birth of bitcoin cash.

Bitcoin cash came because of the scalability issue of bitcoin. While bitcoin is limited to a 1MB block size, the bitcoin cash increased the block size to 8MB. This happened due to the notion that a larger block size will be able to hold more transactions, resulting in higher transaction speed.

Conclusion

Getting to know about the different cryptocurrencies, other than bitcoin, is a good idea. One may experience many exciting features in these decentralized cryptocurrencies, which may not be there in bitcoin. However, as mentioned above, what’s truly unmatched about bitcoin is the security it offers. And due to this very reason, bitcoin is still considered the king of all cryptocurrencies.

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