What cryptocurrencies, besides Bitcoin, do investors invest in?
According to CoinMarketCap, the total cryptocurrency market is $ 156 billion. Bitcoin accounts for 45% of the total market value. But investors for whom bitcoins are too expensive to prefer other cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum (Ethereum, Ether)
- 20% of the total value of the cryptocurrency market ($ 34 billion)
- Number of currencies: over 94 million units
- Cost at the time of writing: $ 369
In 2013, the founder of Bitcoin Magazine, Vitalik Buterin, proposed to complicate the Bitcoin system, and this is how Ethereum appeared. Funds for the implementation of the project were collected through crowdfunding – where everyone could invest in the project. Ethereum started in 2015. The new cryptocurrency is often referred to as Bitcoin 2.0.
Ethereum has miners who keep the system running and mine new “ether”. The system rewards miners just like Bitcoin miners.
The work of ether is based on the blockchain. And no, blockchain is not just about bitcoins. Bitcoin refers to the blockchain as an email to the entire internet. Blockchain is one large electronic system on top of which different types of currencies can be created.
On the air, just like in Bitcoin, there is a mechanism for confirming transactions. Ethereum, like Bitcoin, has already survived the division into 2 currencies: Etherium (ETH) and Etherium Classic (ETC). The “hard fork” happened in 2016 after hackers found a vulnerability in the system and stole a third of the world’s existing ether.
After such a massive theft, it was decided to roll back the system. Otherwise, it was impossible to recover the stolen funds. Not everyone supported this decision because the idea of Ethereum is to decentralize the currency and eliminate any human intervention.
Investors who did not support the return of the system switched to Ethereum CLassic, which is now worth $ 15.8. By the way, you can sell cryptocurrency at Kyrrex.com.
Ripple
- 5% of the total value of the cryptocurrency market ($ 8.4 billion)
- Amount of currency: over 38 billion units
- Cost at the time of writing: $ 0.219
Most cryptocurrencies are branches from bitcoin: the bitcoin code is taken, improved or slightly changed, and a new cryptocurrency is created on the basis. But not in the case of Ripple – its code was written from scratch, under the order of various venture capital funds.
The original idea for such a payment system was invented in 2004 by Ryan Fugger. Then a closed system was created for a small company. The system first started working in 2012.
The main function of Ripple is to increase the speed of transactions between banking operations. And also Ripple allows you to save on transactions. The calculator on the official Ripple website shows that if the bank’s turnover is $ 5 million, then you can save $ 3.5 on each transaction. And that’s $ 3.5 million in savings annually.
Litecoin
- 2% of the total value of the cryptocurrency market ($ 3.29 billion)
- Number of currencies: over 52 million units
- Cost at the time of writing: $ 62
Litecoin was launched in 2011 by former Google engineer Charles Lee. And if Bitcoin was regarded as “gold”, then Litecoin is called “silver” of cryptocurrency. Litecoin is a hard fork (fork) from bitcoin. The basis of the code and the principles of operation for cryptocurrencies are the same.
Litecoin, like many similar cryptocurrencies, was created with the goal of improving the Bitcoin system. So, in the Litecoin system, mining is different. If in Bitcoin blocks are created every 10 minutes, then in Litecoin it happens faster – every 2.5 minutes. That is why Litecoin can process more transactions than in the Bitcoin system.
The number of cryptocurrencies is limited to 84 million units. Also, mining in Litecoin does not require strong computing power as in Bitcoin, and the main emphasis is on the RAM of the computer.
Dash
- 1.6% of the total value of the cryptocurrency market ($ 2.7 billion)
- amount of currency: more than 7.5 million units
- Cost at the time of writing: $ 370
Another cryptocurrency, which turned out as a result of changing the bitcoin code. The Dash system appeared in 2014 and was originally called XCoin, then DarkCoin and in March 2015 the system received its current name.
The main difference from Bitcoin is complete anonymity. Bitcoin is anonymous until the owner of the wallet is found. Then all transactions can be traced. In the Dash system, it is impossible to track other people’s transactions – transaction data are not published in blocks.
The work of the bitcoin network is supported only by the miners – they are engaged in the extraction and distribution of information about transactions in blocks.
In Dash, this work is divided into two tiers – miners and masternode operators. Operators are responsible for the anonymity and speed of transactions in the system, for which they receive rewards.
To become a Masternode Operator. Leave 1000 Dash as a security deposit. Operators receive more rewards than miners.
Nem
- 1.5% of the total value of the cryptocurrency market ($ 2.7 billion)
- amount of currency: 8.9999 billion units
- Cost at the time of writing: $ 0.288
The Nem system appeared at the end of 2015. Unlike other currencies, it has its own unique code. Nem works using blockchain technology and POI (Proof of Importance) algorithm.
What does it mean?
Proof-of-Importance (POI), Proof-of-Work (POW), and Proof-of-Work (POS) have one thing in common. These are all algorithms that, when applied to cryptocurrency, help maintain order when creating a block, conduct a transaction correctly, and reward participants.
For example, the Bitcoin system. Litecoin and Dash work using the POW algorithm – miners perform calculations, solve a problem and show the answer as proof of the work done. For the correct answer, they receive a reward. To earn bitcoins, you must participate in a computing power race. As a result, the creation of a block is an expensive and time-consuming process. As technology improves, people have to spend more money to get the latest ASIC (mining machine) hardware. Thus, even more, energy is wasted.
The POS algorithm works like a dividend – those with more funds in the account receive interest. But it turns out that the “richer” users will get even faster.
The POI algorithm used in Nem combines the concepts of these two algorithms. But the algorithm not only rewards those with large account balances but also takes into account how often they trade with other users.
This means that those who actively contribute to the economy of the Nem system are rewarded. Each user is given a trust rating, the higher it is, the more chances of receiving a reward are.