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Bitcoin
This is quite possibly the most popular cryptocurrency in the world right now, and it is used across several different digital platforms. It was released by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, and has the biggest cap in the market currently, at roughly $10billion. Overall, Bitcoin has the widest acceptance as a cryptocurrency, which is why it’s the most popular digital currency out there. With Bitcoin, there are no transactions fees, as well as extra privacy when using the currency, as personal details such as your name aren’t required. The overall anonymity of the cryptocurrency is just one of the reasons why it is so popular. Its versatility and transparency are just a few more.
Ethereum
This cryptocurrency originates from a Blockchain-based computing platform named Ethereum, which has recently become the second most valuable currency in the digital market. It was introduced by Vitalik Buterin in 2013, in the hopes to improve on what Bitcoin can offer. In a similar manner to the most popular cryptocurrency, Ether allows anonymous payments to be made online without the assistance of a bank or financial third party. However, the main difference between Ether and Bitcoin is that Ether has the better technology, allowing computer applications to run on the network. Therefore, Ether allows several things to run on the network besides money, giving it an advantage over Bitcoin.
Ripple
Banks have started to adapt slightly to the ever-growing cryptocurrency market, which is where Ripple comes in. Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system, also known as RTCS, as well as a currency exchange and remittance network. The cryptocurrency used by Ripple is called Ripples, and it was released in 2012. The market cap for Ripple is approximately £3,074,227,322, but this value is always growing due to its involvement with banking industries. The system has been integrated into several banks recently, as well as payment networks in order to reduce costs.
Litecoin
It might have a similar name to Bitcoin, however, it does function slightly differently. This cryptocurrency was created by Google employee Charles Lee, and he bought out Litecoin in the hopes that it would be an improvement on Bitcoin. Whilst they are both generated through mining as well as the principle for the two cryptocurrencies remaining the same, there is a significant difference. With Litecoin, there is a 2.5 minute duration to generate a black, whereas, with Bitcoin, this is 10 minutes. The algorithm is also different from Litecoin, as it uses an s-crypt, making its calculations more serialized than Bitcoin.
Dash
This cryptocurrency is short for Digital Cash, although beforehand it was known as Darkcoin. However, because of the association people put between Darkcoin and the ‘dark web’, the name had to be changed. Dash focuses heavily on the privacy element of cryptocurrencies, as well as ensuring the speed of the transaction is as optimized as possible. Dash aims to be the most user-friendly cryptocurrency, and it currently offers instant transactions, private transactions and has a self-governing model enabling the Dash network to provide users with payments. The market cap for Dash currently stands at $695,993,941.
Ethereum Classic
Due to an attack on the DAO in September 2016, Ethereum was divided in two parts – Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Whilst we’ve already explored the purpose of original ETH, it’s important to consider the importance of ETC, as it currently has a market cap of $664,032,597. Again, it is an open-source blockchain-based platform, and it united members of the Ethereum community who had denied the hard fork that occurred in September 2016. The purpose of this cryptocurrency is to provide a more rational distribution of payments.
NEM
NEM is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that was introduced to the digital industry in 2015. The cryptocurrency was written in Java, and since has announced new features to Blockchain technology, including its proof-of-importance, algorithm and several other systems, too. A client-server model is used to generate this cryptocurrency, allowing clients to fully operate without needing to run a copy of the NEM Blockchain. NEM also allows messages to be passed through transactions, in encrypted or unencrypted forms, which is normally used for reliable communication to an XEM address, although there is a fee ofl XEM for every 32 characters.
Monero
Although Bitcoin is very much labeled a completely private cryptocurrency, this isn’t always the case, which is why Monero was introduced into the market. This cryptocurrency focuses solely on keeping transactions private, and this is achieved by using ring signature technology, making Monero secure and untraceable. For those who want to remain incognito on the web, Monero is definitely the cryptocurrency for you. Monero bases itself off of the CyrptoNote protocol, possessing many algorithmic differences in relation to blockchain obfuscation.
Zcash
Ever heard of the Zerocoin project? It was created with the intention of improving the anonymity for Bitcoin users. However, the Zerocoin protocol was improved and transformed into Zerocash, resulting in the birth of Zcash. The founder of the cryptocurrency goes by the name of Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn. Payments with Zcash are published on public Blockchain servers, however, users do have the choice to optimize privacy and conceal significant details about the transaction. Private transactions are afforded by Zcash under the option of ‘selective disclosure’, as it allows people who want to carry out transactions privately the choice to comply with any anti-money laundering or tax regulations.